Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has attributed his sale of his shares in logistic firm, Integrated Logistics Services, Intels, to alleged roughshod treatment of the business by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government.
Intels on Monday made public that Atiku divested his shares in in the company in 2020 in a statement entitled, ‘Intels severs ties with Atiku’.
Following on from the statement, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2019 election said allegedly motivated by political vendetta, the federal government was killing the business, thus his decision to sell his shares and invest the proceeds in other ventures.
“Atiku Abubakar has been selling his shares in Intels over the years. It assumed greater urgency in the last five years, because this government has been preoccupied with destroying a legitimate business that was employing thousands of Nigerians because of politics.
“There should be a marked difference between politics and business. Yes, he has sold his shares in Intels and redirected his investment to other sectors of the economy for returns and creation of jobs,” the former Vice President’ media aide, Mazi Paul Ibe wrote.
Recall that Intels was responsible for collecting revenues on behalf of the federal government on ships piloting for years with 28% of the proceeds going to the company.
The government accused Intels of shortchanging it, breaching the Treasury Single Account, TSA policy in operation and slammed the company with suspension and later terminated the pilotage agreement, events Atiku then said were politically motivated.
