THE newly constituted Board of the
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) headed by Chief Tony Aneinh is set to
probe the N30 billion contracts for the management of seaport channels
in and outside Lagos.
A member of the committee, who told The
Nation that the board was displeased with the procedures used in
awarding the contracts, said the two channel management firms did not
follow the relevant provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
The Lagos Channel covers ports in the Western part of the country while Bonny covers ports in the south.
Each of the channel managers, the source said, was given over N15billion for the project.
Sources said the board would look into the allegation that the NPA management awarded the contracts to itself.
He said: “Let me assure you and the
government and Nigerians that the new board constituted by President
Goodluck Jonathan will look into some of the major contracts awarded by
the management of NPA and see if it runs against the Public Procurement
Act.
“The board will also investigate how far
the companies were able to carry out their jobs and the method adopted
by the NPA management to ensure that it was not used as an avenue to
siphon public funds.
“We want to know why the ports outside
Lagos are almost abandoned by importers despite the huge amount being
spent on the management of their channels.
“The decision of Mr President to appoint
us was to bring sanity to the place, and we are set to do that. Those
that have spoken against the re-appointment of our chairman should wait
and see the wonderful job that would be done by the chief and his team.”
Stakeholders in the industry had
expressed their reservations over Anenih’s reappointment by President
Jonathan. Other directors are Senator Florence Ita Giwa, Hon. Hamza Dan
Mahawi, Senator Lekan Mustapha, Alhaji Aminu Baba Danagundi, Mr Austin
Enyonnia Cosmos, and a representative of the Ministry of Transport.
Prominent among those who condemned Anenih’s appointment is former leader of Niger-Delta militants, Alhaji Asari Dokubo.
The source said the effort of the board
to investigate the channel management contract is not unconnected with
the public outcry, which greeted Chief Anenih’s re-appointment.
In October last year, the Maritime
Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) petitioned the Minister of Transport
over alleged illegal activities of some shipping and multinational
companies in the nation’s territorial waters.
The union urged the Federal Government
to investigate the activities of offshore operators, warning that it
would shut ports operations if its request was not acceded to.
It claimed that some shipping and
multinational firms, such as Shell Development Company (SPDC) and
others, who specialise in anchoring and operating vessels offshore, are
contravening operations’ laws.
TheNation
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