Rep. Ibrahim Hamisu, the Chairman, House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation said this at a meeting with the seaport terminal operators in Abuja.

He expressed reservations about the methodology used in the concession of the seaport terminals.

The others summoned were: the Managing Director, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Muhammed Koko, and the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprise, Mamman Ahmadu.

Also summoned was the Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Michael Ohiani.

Hamisu said the poor handling of the concession process had led to the five companies operating for three years without renewing their operating licenses.

The chairman said, this had resulted in a huge loss of revenue to the Federal Government.

The chairman said there was a need to address the prolonged renewal process in order to attract investments into critical port infrastructure.

“From the brief we received from the affected parties and Ministries, departments and Agencies (MDA’s) involved in the process, we now understand what is happening.

“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 these concerns in the mutual and national interest,” he said.

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The agencies include the Nigeria Ports Authority, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigeria Railway Corporation, River Basin Development Authority, and Nigeria Customs Service.

The Green chamber passed the resolution during the plenary session on Thursday, following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Oluwole Oke from Osun state.

While moving his motion, Oke said the procedures for the disposal and auctioning of government assets are well spelled out in the Financial Regulations Act 2009 and Public Procurement Act 2007.

He also said the 1999 constitution makes adequate provisions that all revenues realized from the disposal/auctioning of public property must be remitted into the consolidated revenue fund.

The lawmaker said proper valuation ought to be carried out on the assets designated for auction by the Federal Ministry of Works, indicating the original cost price of the asset, date of acquisition, and realisable value.

Oke told his colleagues that NPA, NIMASA, NRC, RBDAS and NCS have been auctioning public property “at a ridiculous price” and without following due process.

He further said partial remittance or non-remittance of revenue realised from the auctioning of public property into a consolidated revenue fund is a breach of the provision of the constitution.

The legislator said if the practice is not checked, it may affect the federal government’s quest to meet the rising demands for accelerated infrastructural developments.

The motion was adopted when it was put to a voice vote by Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, who presided over planetary.

The lawmakers, therefore resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the functioning of public property by the agencies between 2010 and 2022 to “unravel the extent of illegal auctioning of public property, and non-remittance of revenue realise into CRF” and report back to within four weeks for further legislative action.

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Mrs Buhari made the assertion at the launch of Free to Shine Campaign against Childhood Aids, at the Secretariat of African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) on Friday in Abuja.

The theme of the campaign was “Transforming Africa through Prioritising Children, Adolescents and Mothers in the fight against HIV/AIDS.“

The wife of the president called on the Ministry of Health to create a platform that would mobilise funds from government agencies to provide adequate healthcare for the PLWHA.

She listed such agencies to include the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Mrs Buhari, however, restated her commitment to the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV in the country.

“We don’t need to get other foreign agencies involved in taking care of our people. I believe that we have the resources which if utilised judiciously, will make all of us feel comfortable living in Nigeria,” she said.

She explained that free to shine campaign was designed to complement ongoing efforts towards the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis on the African continent.

Mrs Buhari also said that first ladies in Africa had committed themselves to the campaign with the aim at ending childhood AIDS in Africa by 2030 and keeping mothers healthy.

She said, “Many people living with HIV in Nigeria are unaware of their status, despite this challenge.

“Nigeria is committed to ensuring that the vision and mission of the free to shine campaign are achieved in the country.

“As UNAID Special Ambassador to the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV, I need the promotion of treatment for children living with HIV in Nigeria.

“I have more reasons to ensure that this happens. My vision in this campaign is to end childhood AIDS in Nigeria and keep mothers healthy.

“This vision will be achieved through several programmes that will increase the number of HIV pregnant women identified and placed on treatment for their health and prevention of the transmission to their babies.

She, therefore, enjoined stakeholders to pay particular attention to issues that were critical to the reduction of HIV among mothers and their children.

Earlier, Mrs Helen Aphan, leader, Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASWHAN) appealed to the wife of the president to come to the aid of those infected.

“HIV treatment is still not available and accessible to many women living with the scourge. I want to use this medium to cry to the wife of the president to assist in making the treatment free and available,” Aphan said.

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The spokesman for NPA, Malam Isa Suwaid, said this on Monday in Lagos.

He recalled that the suspension order was signed by the General Manager, Marine and Operations, Joshua Asanga, on behalf of the Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Usman.

According to him, the affected shipping companies have now been given two weeks, beginning from Friday July 20, to comply with four conditions to ensure sustainable relationship.

Suwaid said among the conditions were that the affected companies should increase the capacity of their holding bays from 1,800 TEUs (containers) to 7,500 TEUS.

“The affected companies will sign-off on the volume capacity of the holding bays verified at the end of the grace period and that at the expiration of the two weeks; an inspection will be conducted to ascertain compliance.

“Thereafter, further sanctions will be applied for failure to meet the said conditions.

“It could be recalled that a fortnight ago, shipping services of Maersk Line, Cosco Shipping, APS and Lansal were suspended by the NPA for their inability to upgrade their holding bays capacities,” Suwaid said in a statement.

According to him, the suspension was for 10 days in the first instance.

He explained that the two-week period of grace granted to the four affected shipping companies was sequel to a meeting the authority held with officials of the companies over the weekend.

“The decision by the NPA to grant the period of grace was after due consideration of their presentations at the meeting and a subsequent joint inspection of their existing facilities,” Suwaid said.

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It will also discuss the experiences of port hinterland connectivity in other parts of the world compared to Africa, explore possible critical solutions, and recommend best home-grown models that would enable Africa to improve on its port hinterland connectivity and intraregional trade”
 
The statement explained that the conference theme will be discussed under four different categories namely: Connectivity and port hinterlands: components, modal options; Funding options for hinterland connectivity – hard and soft infrastructure; Africa’s ports landscape: infrastructure, governance models, and landlocked transit corridors and Sustainability and facilitation of the logistics and transport supply chain.

The International Association of Ports and Harbors, with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan was founded in 1955 as a global professional group for seaports operators across the world. 

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman was elected Vice President, IAPH (Africa Region) in July 2017 after a keenly contested election with other heads of port Authorities in Africa. 
 
The Conference will attract local participation from Nigeria’s maritime and trade sectors and international participation from key organizations like the World Trade Organization, the International Maritime Organization, UNCTAD, various African trade corridors including the Lagos Abidjan trade corridor and the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, Antwerp Port Authority, Guangzhou Port Authority, Port of Miami(Florida).

African Ports will have Transnet National Port Authority (South Africa), Kenya Ports Authority, Douala Port Authority (Cameroon), Nigerian Ports Authority, Cotonou Port Authority (Benin), Abidjan Port Authority (Cote d’Ivoire), Dakar Port Authority (Senegal), Tanger Med Port (Morocco), and Port of Alexandria (Egypt).
 
The lead sponsors of the Conference are African Circle Ltd, Intels Nigeria Ltd and Greenview Limited of the Dangote Group. 

Registration for attendance and sponsorship is open on the Conference website: 
www.iaphabuja2018.com
 

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Abdullahi disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

He said as a major player in the maritime sector, the company had so far spent N1 billion to make the road accessible to the port.

While appealing to the Federal Government to fix all the roads that lead to the port, he said that the organisation made the gesture as part of its social responsibility.

“The distance from the port gate to the Airway Bus stop caused the organisation that much.

“We would have done more if not for Lagos State government’s restrictions; even the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) made an attempt to fix the roads but stopped.

“It is not within the purview of NPA to repair roads, so they stopped the idea and the roads have remained bad since then.’’

The Senior Staff Union of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) had also called on the Federal Government to fix the roads leading into the Tin-Can Islnd and Apapa Ports.

The President of the union, Benson Adegbeyemi had decried the poor state of the access roads in Apapa, saying that it had greatly impeded movement of economic activities at the ports.

He noted that the recent rehabilitation work done on some access roads by some private operators had not produced the desired result and called on Federal Government to take over the projects.

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Consequently, the leadership of the upper chamber has instructed the Joint Committee on Petroleum (upstream and downstream) and Gas to investigate the alleged fraud.

For a nation in recession and planning to borrow to finance its expenditure in 2017, there is the need to urgently stop such fraudulent practices that have robbed it of a huge sum said to be enough to finance the country’s budget for two consecutive years.

If the allegation is true and the money or a part of it is recovered, government will have more money to execute its projects and programmes for the development of the country.

The joint committee, which addressed a press conference on the matter yesterday said it had scheduled a three-day investigative hearing which would focus on the activities of the petroleum sector during the administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.

The panel alleged that out of the N10trillion fraud, some N5.2 trillion was lost through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) alone, which would be summoned to account for the loss.

The committee said that the N5.2 trillion represented the amount the NNPC collected as subsidy from the Federal Government for the importation of petroleum products, particularly Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol or fuel between 2006 and 2016, aside from the 445,000 barrels of crude oil allocated to it on a yearly basis for the nation’s refineries for local consumption.

The Chairman of the Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Kabiru Marafa, said that available records before the panel glaringly showed that during the period under investigation, NNPC imported fuel into the country that was more than 40% of our local consumption, apart from gross under-utilisation of the 445, 000 barrels it collected for local refining for local consumption on a yearly basis due to very low capacities of the four refineries in the country then.

“The NNPC, being the custodian of the crude oil resources of the nation, is responsible for 51% of petroleum products importation into the country over the years, aside from the 445,000 crude allocation it gives itself on a yearly basis for the sale of local refining.

“It must account for the N5.2 trillion which available records show that it has spent on subsidy on its own 51% of petroleum products importation between 2006 and 2016 aside from the N3.8 trillion spent on a similar subsidy for independent marketers and about $1.5 billion yet to be accounted for by other key players in the industry,” he said.

Marafa disclosed further that the committee also discovered another dimension of fraud in the industry through the disappearance of PMS from storages leased by NNPC without any accountability and or return of the value of the stolen product. According to him,100 million litres of PMS worth N14billion were stolen by two different companies without any sanction against them yet from the NNPC.

“This committee has established the missing of 100million litres of PMS from such storage arrangement. We expected NNPC to have taken action against the two companies that carried out the theft but since it has not, we hereby ordered it to do so immediately, precisely within this week, failure of which we shall make the whole details known to the public,” the lawmaker threatened.

According to him, all key players in the sector, along with their collaborators who have taken the country for a ride during the period under review, must be brought to book through the investigation to be conducted soon because President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate leadership are very much interested in unmasking those behind the scam perpetrated during the Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and by extension, the Buhari administrations.

“President Buhari is highly supportive of this move by the Senate and we shall not fail in carrying out the needed holistic investigation into obvious sharp practices in the sector. Needed documents for the onerous task are already in our possession,” Marafa added.

Already listed to appear before the committee during the planned public investigative hearing that will last for about three days are past and present chief executives of NNPC, their counterpart in the independent marketers association, licence inspection agency, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), among others.

The committee said specific areas of investigation would include commercial activities of the corporation, purchases, supplies, distribution and payments from 2006 till date.

The joint committee also said it would probe the N3.8trillion collected by independent product marketers and $1.5billiion being owed the independent marketers by government.

“We have already established the missing of 100million litres of PMS amounting to about N14.5billion. This was done by two companies,” Marafa, stressed.

“We expect full cooperation by all stakeholders and all past and present industry players over the period in question. In the absence of cooperation or where our investigations show infractions, abuse of contract, abuse of position, or collusion that serves to cheat Nigeria, we will recommend the harshest of penalties which will include but not limited to blacklisting of companies and or individuals from ever doing business with Nigeria and or NNPC,” the lawmakers added.

Marafa said that the hearing would not be targeted at any administration.

On his part, chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) Tayo Alasoadura, noted: “People will come and account for the reason we were importing fuel into this country that was more than 40 per cent of our needs. As soon as fuel was half-deregulated, our consumption in this country came down by about 40 per cent. Who were the people benefiting from this?

“We have a blank cheque to probe into all these matters and we are going to do it and ensure that people who have taken this country for a ride are brought to book.”

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Buhari spoke on Monday at the inauguration of the National Economic Council, a Federal Executive body with a mandate to advice the President on the economic affairs of the Federation, particularly on measures necessary for the coordination of the economic planning and programmes of the various governments of the federation.

stablished by the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), as amended, Third Schedule, Part I, Section 153: Sub section (18 & 19), NEC is made up of the Vice President, who is the chairman, the 36 state governors, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other co-opted members.

Speaking at the inauguration on Monday, Buhari said his government would ensure that the money generating agencies comply with financial regulations in the bid to block leakages and wastage.

The agencies he mentioned were the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Nigeria Customs Services, Federal Inland Revenue Services, Nigeria Ports Authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and Liquefied Natural Gas.

“You may recall, that in my inaugural speech, on May 29, 2015 I stated that the primary objective of this Administration is to tackle insecurity; youth unemployment, through the revival of agriculture, solid minerals mining, as well as small and medium size businesses.

“I also highlighted pervasive corruption; fuel and power shortages; public service reforms; and the need to allow every tier of Government to exercise its constitutional responsibilities, among others.

“We are fully committed to embarking on sustainable visionary initiatives and programmes that will restructure and transform our national economy.

“We are also committed to ensuring collaboration and facilitation of the International efforts to combat threats of cross-border terrorism, sea piracy, refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), financial crimes, cyber crimes, climate change; the spread of communicable diseases and other challenges of the 21st century.

“I urge you all to ensure that we surmount these enormous challenges facing us as a country by working to support economic policies, which the government will soon unveil to grow our economy and finance our external promises.”

Buhari equally called for cooperation among states. “I would like also, as a former Governor myself to remind us the need for neighbouring states to cooperate closely on projects such as interstate and feeder roads, soil erosion, desertification and other developmental programmes.

“Our country is one and we who have the responsibility to run it lead by example. As far as is possible there should be distance between politics and development programmes.”

He promised that the Federal Government will run an accountable and transparent economic platform.

“On its part the Federal Government will abide by the provisions of Sections 80 and 162 of the Constitution and ensure more accountability, transparency and integrity in the Distribution of the Federation Account.

“All Revenue Generating Agencies such as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria Customs Services, Federal Inland Revenue Services, Nigeria Ports Authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and Liquefied Natural Gas amongst others shall comply with stipulated Financial Regulations and Administrative Instructions in their remittances into the Consolidated Revenue Fund,” he said.

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The drivers consented to the agreement at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) at Apapa, agreed at the meeting to relocate their trucks to the various trailer parks in and around Lagos.

The articulated vehicle drivers further resolved to return to the ports from the various loading bays, whenever it was their turn to load and also agreed to reorganise the loading bays and tank farms and regulate them in a more
orderly manner.

The Federal Government also addressed the problem of bad roads raised at the meeting by directing the trucks to vacate the highway, for the repair work to commence.

Franco Borini of Borini Prono and Co. (Nig) Ltd, contractors handling the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Section One of the highway, said the company would immediately move to site.

Some of the stakeholders who spoke lauded the understanding reached at the meeting, which they agreed would solve the problem of gridlock in the area.

The Special Assistant to the President on Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Prof. Sylvester Monye, said that the problem was complex and had been addressed.

“Apapa has become a `no go’ area; the road between Apapa and Mile 2 is a `no go’ area, the roads have failed, trucks are tumbling and the President asked me to come to Lagos and speak with the relevant stakeholders and get the problem solved, without delay.

“What we have achieved with this meeting is that the Petroleum Tankers Drivers Association has agreed to take their trucks off the roads within 48 hours.

“The trailers picking cargoes from the port have also agreed to remove their vehicles from the roads. “We have to get the trucks out of the roads so that the contractor can go back to site,” he said.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Kayode Opeifa, said the problem was caused by bad roads and the tank farms, adding that the ports generated the largest funds for the Federal Government and that the government had a duty not to endanger the lives of residents of the state.

kehinde Afolabi, Acting Chairman (South-West), Federal Road Committee on Surveillance and Action Against Road Abuse (FERCSARA), said that there was need to sustain the campaign against road abuses, to nip the problem in the bud.

“The meeting was a laudable one because all the stakeholders were present and a lot of issues on our roads
were raised, including road abuse. We were able to agree that if we continue to hold one stakeholder to ransom, there would not be a way forward.

“We realised that it is important that we go back to the drawing board and tackle the problem religiously without blaming any party.

“FERCSARA is to ensure the roads are in good condition and we are working to ensure our roads are in good condition, while we continue the campaign against road abuse.

“The FERCSARA campaign against road abuse has to continue because we realise that if we do not sustain the effort, our roads will become worse than what we are experiencing now,” he said.

However, the President, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Remi Ogungbemi, declined comment on the issue. “I prefer to remain mum for now because there is so much politics involved but my men would move their trucks out of the roads,” he said.

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Tukur said this at the NRC headquarters at Ebute-Metta in Lagos, during his maiden corporation facilities’ tour with board members.

He said the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan was working, considering the revitalisation which was observed during the tour.

“The Railway Transformation Project is awakening the sleeping giant of Nigeria. The opportunity is tremendous, and we will work hard under this leadership. I think the sky should be the limit.

“Nigerians should be given what they deserve, and we will give Nigerians a modern railway system, with determination. I can see the zeal, and the desire to give the best. I believe that the Federal government will provide what it requires for the management of railway to meet the need.

“My vision for railway in Nigeria is to build a modern railway for a modern society. I have seen the Chinese built 30,000 miles of rail from Beijing up to Hamburg.

“Nigeria’s railway can even part Africa into two. Why not Lagos to Cotonou and to other countries? It can be done. My vision is Africa. I am looking forward to one day when Nigeria’s rail will move up to Cairo, to Dar es Salaam from Lagos and vice-versa,’’ Tukur said.

The board chairman said his wealth of experience, which made him to build 13 ports for Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) within five years, could help him transform the NRC.

“When the NPA was in the same situation, I and the authority’s management built 13 ports for the authority within five years. If we can do it there, why not here with the members of the NRC board? With the past record, the will and the capacity, we can do more in NRC,’’ Tukur said.

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