NPA Clears Air On $852.93m, N1.8b Audit Query

By James Itodo

The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, has made strong self – absolving submissions before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts over the alleged $852million and N1.8billion unremittances from private operators.

The Office of the Auditor General of the Federation had in the 2019 audit report alleged that NPA did not collect remittances from terminal operators which amounted to $852million and N1.8billion.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, on the strength of the audit queries against NPA gave its Managing Director, Mohammed Bello Koko and other management staff to appear before it unfailingly within 48hours .

In response to the committee’s directive, the Managing Director of NPA explained to the committee that the lump sums of $852million and N1.8billion raised in the queries were accumulation of unremittances from private port operators who came on board through the 2006 concession agreement.

Faulty concession agreements he explained signed with the private operators by the Federal Government in 2006 largely accounted for the unremittances NPA is being held responsible for today.

He pointedly told the committee members that the federal government signed the concession agreement with the private operators and even contributed to encumberances faced by the concessionaires at the beginning by not removing structures that belong to it from the right of way of the affected concessionaires.

“Out of the $852million going by our in – house assessment, $504million are accumulated unremitted levies due to encumbered areas.

On the second query of outstanding debts of $67.45million and N32.266billion, the NPA boss told the committee members that the debts were not incurred by NPA but the defunct Nigerian Shippers Council, whose debtors are no longer traceable .

The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada in his remarks, told the NPA boss to furnish the committee with their financial statement and way out for government to write off the legacy debts.

Edited By Grace Namiji