By Ken Afor
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, and the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, were summoned to appear before the House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation on Tuesday.
However, neither the minister nor the managing director of the NPA appeared before the committee to provide explanations following controversies surrounding the concession of Apapa Terminal, Warri Port Terminal, and Tincan Island Port Terminal.
It was also observed that the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Ignatius Ayewoh (in acting capacity), and the Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. J.A. Michael Ohiani, did not show up.
Addressing stakeholders at the investigative hearing, the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Ibrahim Chidari, disclosed that the purpose of the hearing was to discuss strategies for expediting the renewal process of affected firms seaport contracts in order to attract investments into the critical sector, sayinh it is a key focus of the current administration.
He said: “We invited you to this meeting today to discuss how best to address this prolong renewal process because of the need to attract investments into our critical port infrastructure which is one of the major focus of this administration.
“From the brief we received from affected parties and MDA’s involved in the process, we understand that as of today what is outstanding in concluding the process that started over 5 years ago is the execution of the negotiated Supplementary Agreements for the respective Terminals.
“That is why we invited all stakeholders to see how we can work together to quickly address this concern in the mutual and national interest.”
While noting that some terminals are still operating in some of the nation’s ports despite the expiration of their concession, the Chairman of the committee vowed to sanction whoever is in charge of such impunity in the maritime sector.
He added: “There are the five terminals whose concession period has expired and they have been operating illegally from 2021 to date and we want to investigate and see what is the problem and whoever is in charge of this, we would deal with him.”
The port operators whose concessions had expired include: ENL Consortium Limited, Associated Maritime Services Limited (AMS), Ports & Cargo Handling Services Ltd, and Josephdam Port Services Nigerian Limited.
The lawmakers expressed concern over the purported illegality of NPA officials issuing letters of extension for concession agreements to operators. They emphasized the importance of investigating the fees collected from the six terminal operators to determine whether they were deposited into private or government accounts.
Furthermore, the lawmakers reiterated that the committee is committed to resolving these issues promptly and urged those expected to appear next week Tuesday, March 12, 2024, to provide all relevant documents to the Secretariat by Friday.
“We also want to assure that this committee would work very hard to make sure that this issue is over and to do that, you are to furnish the Committee with all the relevant documents through the Secretariat latest Friday.
He said: “To this end we would also go into details of all your financial activities between the expired date to today because as one of the members said maybe you are comfortable with what you have been paying and that is why you are silent otherwise you should have been following it so the issue would come to an end.
“So, when you are furnishing the Committee with relevant documents, you should give us all the details of payment done by your side to the government so we can see what transpired between the expired date to date.
“We want to assure we would work hard and work together with you to make sure that this prolonged issue is solved.”
Hon. Chidari further observed that, “Some seaport terminals were given out on concession and five of them their duration has expired. Some are from Lagos and some are from Port Harcourt. They were trying to see that their approvals were renewed since 2021. Somewhere, somewhere this renewal were not granted to them, but they have been operating since then.”
“So, we deemed it fit to cross check and find out what they problem is. So, we decided to invite them, and all the stakeholders like the Ministry of Blue Economy, ICRC, BPP, Ministry of Transport. After inviting them here today, unfortunately only the seaport terminal operators are here.
“So, we have discussed with them and have given one week period within which the Minister of Blue Economy, MD NPA, BPP and ICRC should appear before this committee on 12th of March by 10 am, so we discuss with them, we see where the problem is and we take action so that we bring this lasting solution to the problem.
“They have been invited but only one of them gave a reason for not coming because they are out of the country. But the rest did not give any reason for not coming, ” he noted.
During the hearing, other lawmakers questioned the Terminal Operators about the certainty of fees being deposited into the appropriate government accounts, emphasizing that any payment made illegally constitutes corruption and is considered an offense.
Chief Ochia Patrick, representing Brawal Oil Services Limited, accused INTEL of indiscriminate imposition of shifting fees, resulting in significant losses for international shipping agencies.
He also expressed concern about the high cost of diesel required to power generators daily and requested the House’s intervention in ensuring regular gas supply to the Terminal.
Furthermore, he voiced concern about the adverse effects of high foreign exchange rates and other associated costs incurred while conducting business in the country.
Indorama Group expressed concern over the imposition of approximately 40 taxes by the Federal Government and various regulatory agencies.
In response to the stakeholders’ concerns, Hon. Chidari noted that the Committee has been collaborating with relevant Standing Committees on Finance and Gas Resources to address the challenges hindering the ease of doing business in the country.
Consequently, the Committee decided to adjourn until Tuesday, 12th March 2024, for further legislative action.
