Why NPA Disbursed N1.8Billion For Wharf Road Reconstruction – Usman

I appreciate the values that the former General Manager, Public Relations, Chief Michael Ajayi brought in; but you all need to support the new person and that is Mr. Abdullahi Goje. Bear with us because as people retire, some others would have the responsibility to handle to the mantle but they are different personalities. You should continue to ensure that you guide, support and lead us in the right direction.

I have noted the request for capacity building and sponsorship but I would like you to speak with the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Abdullahi Goje and be very clear on how you want us to support you. We should also take into cognizance the constraints in governance that guides our operations, noting the procurement processes and fear of approval threshold across the country. I want you to also be very mindful of what sort of support we can give as well as those we cannot give. This is a discussion that should continue offline and you should speak with Mr. Goje to articulate the various areas where you want some sort of support. Today, we operate under strict adherence to policies that binds on the public sector especially on public spending.

One of the issues I had to deal with initially as the Managing Director of NPA was the need to review the organization’s structure in order to enable the ports live up to expectations. There was a need to do some minor adjustments in line with the role of the organization at the moment in port operations and also to reduce the bureaucratic processes that do not enhance efficiency. For example, where you have a Port Manager reporting directly to an Executive Director at NPA there is a direct reporting line. This aids in implementation of directives at the ports and we had to look at what values the zonal structure was adding. We couldn’t find the values zonal structures were adding to the organization and it wasn’t improving our operations.  Why create such intermediaries when the Port Manager can just report straight to the Executive Director?

I have written several letters to the Ministry of Works regarding the budgetary provision for the roads around the port locations. It is also important to note that the letters that we have been writing to the Ministry aren’t just for the Apapa and Tin Can port roads but for all port access roads in the country. We have asked the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to provide clarity on the budgetary provision for access roads to our ports. The Minister confirmed that he made provisions but some of these delays are as a result of bureaucratic processes.

However, they don’t have a budget that could take all of the roads and that formed the basis why the Nigerian Ports Authority provided N1.8bilion for the construction of the Wharf road. This isn’t under our purview and it isn’t our responsibility but we got to a stage where we couldn’t shy away from providing the fund. We had several meetings where the contributors talked about building a smaller road which wouldn’t have full utility or full drainage systems. We insisted that if they weren’t going to refurbish the roads fully then they shouldn’t do it, therefore NPA had to give them an additional N1.8billion to enable them make the road functional with all the necessary requirements. The issue is clearly the absence of budgetary provision but we are working with the Ministry of Works to ensure that these roads are constructed. NPA is always available to see how it can provide budgetary support or funding support for the construction of all port access roads in the country.

I was at the location few weeks ago and I was disappointed at the pace of the construction and I made my worries known to the contractor. Part of the problems was the relocation of some property. The funding of the project didn’t include the cost of relocation and the challenges of funding the relocation of utilities became an issue. They found gasoline and electric power cables that need to be relocated. We have reported that concern to the Minister of Works, Mr. Babatunde Fashola. He is also relating the problem to the Bureau of Public Procurement to look funding components and include the cost of relocation of utility to enable the constructors make progress. I also made them understand that they need to do more work on providing the staff and map out solution to resolving these issues

NPA wouldn’t be constructing any truck holding bay or trailer garage. NPA would only be granting licenses for operators of these facilities to use the call-up system with the NPA. So we would be calling on the private sector to develop holding bays and trailer garage and obtain license from us to enable the truck parked in their holding bays have access to the port and for the deployment of the call-up system

What Shippers’ Council has started is something we appreciate and applaud. The challenges we had with companies on truck parks is that they are saying they wouldn’t give us the full business case disclosure because they feel that we would sale the information.

However, this business case is what Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) requires to give you approval for any form of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). So, if a private company wants to do a PPP or concession, they need to give an outline of their business case which contain the financial forecast and details of how they intend to make money from that business.

The company that is taking the initiative from Nigerian Shippers’ Council only submitted a very sketchy document. I send the document to the ICRC but they responded that it was too skeletal, that we need to put in the full business plan with details before they could consider the proposal and approve it. This company is still yet to bring the full description of its business plan and I recall saying to them that I took exception to their questions our confidentiality to the extent that they have refused to came forward with their full business outline for six months. We have been stuck with this company that is refusing to prepare its business outline the way it is extended by the ICRC.

I have raised that issue at the board meetings and we are seeking the advice of the Attorney General regarding our continued relationship with multinationals. They have been sanctioned by the Swiss court stating that they had made payments to the officials of the NPA that were not in line with corporate governance around anti-corruption. They responded to the sanction that they were making no statements to facilitate the payment; they wrote that they had invoices to NPA on the contracts and they were making profits. They also added that NPA staff refused to sign and pay the invoices except they give them an inducement. So, they clearly stated that some of these payments were because NPA staff demanded for the payment to enable them sign the invoice. In addition, they also indicated that there were security challenges around where they operate. They operate in Bonny, and they used some of the funds to pay for security concerns but the court stated that this wasn’t acceptable. I have submitted a request to the Attorney General but he is yet to respond. The problem is that when officials of government decide to sit on invoices or demand bribes before making payments on invoices. We had to find out if their invoices were delayed during those periods and there are evidences that prove that their invoices were delayed.

As a result of these issues, at the NPA we have resolved to sign these invoices on time and at the last board meeting we were commended because most of these invoices are now signed on time to prevent delays. We also have the responsibility to ensure security of these regions especially the South-South region because when these companies are made to pay ransoms, they go back to their countries and testify that these are the reasons why they bribe or spend extra.

Nevertheless, we have discussed with the Attorney General if you are aware of public procurement procedures, you know that you cannot prevent anyone from submitting a bid. You cannot hinder anyone who is qualified except you have a clear position or direction from the Attorney General that they cannot participate. We await the response of the Attorney General on the legitimacy of our continued interaction with this company.

On the issue of statistics, I am glad you raised the issue and we are going to ensure that we have such important shipping statistics on the NPA website. We should have data that shows everything we do and I would be very passionate in ensuring that we have up-to-date information. I have approved everything the General Manager asked because I don’t want excuses. If they want staff training, computers or gadgets, we would provide it, but we must have up-to-date data and I would ensure that the I.T manager uploads it at the right time.

We only have what we received and forwarding to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Attorney General. Some NPA personal were indicted by the Swiss court and we wrote a letter to EFCC attaching the document that were obtained from the Swiss company which had the details and the names of the persons. We sent these to the EFCC to enable them take necessary actions.

We have all the documentations available. We have had meetings with the BPE and they have highlighted the steps that we need to take. We queried the officers within NPA and we are working at concluding around the fact that both parties have been paid. The matter is currently in court and arbitration so we can’t do much to avoid subjudice.

General Manager Corporate Affairs, Mr. Abdullahi Goje; Please I don’t want to continue hearing these complaints about unpaid bills. Please, whatever the situation is always come to me so that we could resolve it specially and pay people their monies. It’s been a long time and I thought most of these bills have been paid.

As you are all familiar with the details from the Attorney General of the federation on the illegality of INTELS refusal to comply with Treasury Single Account (TSA). When I started work in NPA, I met letters sent by the former management on the need for INTELS to comply. So, this discussion started almost 15 months ago. From June 2016 to date, several letters have been written and meetings have been held regarding the need for INTELS to comply but the company has continuously refused to comply.

They maintained that they wouldn’t make payment to NPA accounts insisting that all rentages, pilotage, etc, must come into their coffers before they deduct their 28%. They want to deduct the cost of amortization before they remit to NPA. Please note that these are revenues of the Federal Government. The constitution of the country states that all revenue of the government needs to be consolidated in the government account. INTELS has refused and NPA’s position is that a TSA account be opened where both INTELS and NPA could look into the account to see when revenue come in; so at the end of every month there would be a reconciliation of the amount of money in the account and INTELS would provide NPA with an invoice for its 28% and NPA would pay that 28%. INTELS shouldn’t hold government money until it makes its deduction.

The other third party agreement we have doesn’t work that way; the money comes to us and we pay for their services. If you’re given a job, you should be able to bring an invoice to show that you have done the job. Their concern is that if the money initially goes to the government, some level of bureaucracy would come in and they may not get their monies on time or they may be owed. However, we have promised INTELS that we would pay within seven working days and if we fail they should charge us interest on late payments. So, the government is willing to charge itself for late payment but INTELS has still refused to comply.  They have also argued that they went into an agreement with some banks that these monies would be paid into these banks but NPA wasn’t involved in that agreement.  They can’t unilaterally sign an agreement for loans with a bank and bind the government to that agreement.

If you are collecting a bank loan for a project, you factor all costs involved in the execution of that project. For instance, you can’t say building a bridge is N5million but the cost of the fund is N2million. All costs should be reflected in your budget. NPA shouldn’t pay for the cost of these funds. We pay INTELS 28% for collecting government revenue; where in the world does someone receive 28% for collecting revenue for the government? The 28% is very high but that is a different issue as they have blatantly refused to comply with TSA. Is INTELS above the law? Should we spend more than 15 months trying to get INTELS to adhere to TSA? Should any company be allowed to act above the laws of the country in which it operates? The government had entered into an agreement with a company and later found that some of the agreements were in contrast to the existing laws of the country and it made amendments but INTELS refused to sign the documents.