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Tag: NPA

  • Fed Govt blamed for corruption in ports

    Fed Govt blamed for corruption in ports

    A group, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Im-porters and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC), has berated the Federal Government for not allowing Nigerians to reap the benefits of the port concession carried out seven years ago.

    The group blamed the government and the concessionaires who took over the ports from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Customs for corruption, inefficiency and high cost of operations at the ports.

    The group, during an interaction with reporters in Lagos, said ports privatisation in other countries were done to benefit the economy, the citizens and successor companies, noting that the exercise had not benefited Nigerians except the few ‘money bags’ and foreigners who took over the ports from the NPA.

    Its National Coordinator, Comrade Chukwu Osita, told reporters that ports concession anywhere in the world is done with the primary aim to improve efficiency, bring about better port infrastructure and services with the attendant benefits to all parties. He noted that in Nigeria it is only the concessionaires that are benefiting while Nigerians continue to grapple with high cost of operations at the ports.

    He noted that the Federal Government actually had good intention towards the ports but failed to follow it through with the right appointments and policy implementation to ensure transparency and corruption-free operations in line with global best practices.

    Osita stated that President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation programmes in the Nigerian ports, which were meant to reposition the ports will not succeed because the system in place in the ports has been polluted with bribery and corruption. He said this has brought with it inefficiency and has made it unbearable for the stakeholders.

    He said that there are numerous challenges, which demand urgent attention by the government to save the ugly situation. Osita cited some of the issues to include the faulty Nigerian Custom Cargo Alert System, multiplicity of cargo clearance points and delays in the scanning of containers. He said scanning of containers by the Service Providers is delayed because the scanning companies deceived the government and brought in very old and refurbished equipments that break down often.

    Osita said there are infrastructural decay and maintenance neglect and IT failures in some of the Customs Commands while shipping companies delay service delivery. He said the issue of withholding of container deposits by shipping companies to the detriment of the clearing agents who might have taken the risk of getting loans from the banks to clear the goods for their principals is going on unabated.

    The group stated that unclean and unconducive ports environment, lack of provision of parking lots to enable stakeholders discharge their legitimate duties by the concessionaires, amendments and forgeries of vital documents and lack of equipments.

     

     

     

     

    Osita blamed the Federal Government for its inability to allow the Nigerian Shippers Council to perform its regulatory functions effectively saying this is impacting negatively on the Nigerian shippers adding there are lots of delays in documentation and movement of goods in the ports; even exited containers are not always allowed free flow by the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs.

    He said that freight forwarders are made to pay too many taxes and those of them who dare to tell the public the true situation in the ports are witch-hunted by the Customs, their licences are blocked for minor reasons while issuing of new licences or renewal of old ones attract exorbitant fees.

    The group also blamed the government for ‘tactically’ ensuring that the Eastern ports at Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri are underutilised thereby causing pains for importers who must have to use the often congested Lagos ports with its attendant problems to the importers. They advised the Federal Government to establish a Ministry of Ports and Customs which they believe will help in handling the issues concerning the ports better than what the Ministry of Transport is currently doing.

    They promised to unmask perpetrators of bribery and corruption in Nigerian seaports, Customs, Borders and Air Cargo Terminals very soon.

     

  • Fed Govt blamed for corruption in ports

    Fed Govt blamed for corruption in ports

    • Group seeks Ministry of Ports and Customs

     

    A group, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC), has berated the Federal Government for not allowing Nigerians to reap the benefits of the port concession carried out seven years ago.

    The group blamed the government and the concessionaires who took over the ports from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Customs for corruption, inefficiency and high cost of operations at the ports.

    The group, during an interaction with reporters in Lagos, said ports privatisation in other countries were done to benefit the economy, the citizens and successor companies, noting that the exercise had not benefited Nigerians except the few ‘money bags’ and foreigners who took over the ports from the NPA.

    Its National Coordinator, Comrade Chukwu Osita, told reporters that ports concession anywhere in the world is done with the primary aim to improve efficiency, bring about better port infrastructure and services with the attendant benefits to all parties. He noted that in Nigeria it is only the concessionaires that are benefiting while Nigerians continue to grapple with high cost of operations at the ports.

    He noted that the Federal Government actually had good intention towards the ports but failed to follow it through with the right appointments and policy implementation to ensure transparency and corruption-free operations in line with global best practices.

    Osita stated that President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation programmes in the Nigerian ports, which were meant to reposition the ports will not succeed because the system in place in the ports has been polluted with bribery and corruption. He said this has brought with it inefficiency and has made it unbearable for the stakeholders.

    He said that there are numerous challenges, which demand urgent attention by the government to save the ugly situation. Osita cited some of the issues to include the faulty Nigerian Custom Cargo Alert System, multiplicity of cargo clearance points and delays in the scanning of containers. He said scanning of containers by the Service Providers is delayed because the scanning companies deceived the government and brought in very old and refurbished equipments that break down often.

    Osita said there are infrastructural decay and maintenance neglect and IT failures in some of the Customs Commands while shipping companies delay service delivery. He said the issue of withholding of container deposits by shipping companies to the detriment of the clearing agents who might have taken the risk of getting loans from the banks to clear the goods for their principals is going on unabated.

    The group stated that unclean and unconducive ports environment, lack of provision of parking lots to enable stakeholders discharge their legitimate duties by the concessionaires, amendments and forgeries of vital documents and lack of equipments.

  • Wogu gives NPA two weeks to settle salary arrears

    Labour and Productivity Minister, Chief Emeka Wogu, has given Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) two-week ultimatum to settle outstanding salaries and emoluments of tally clerks and onboard security men in maritime.

    The directive stemmed from an agreement reached at a stakeholders meeting convened by the government to address incessant threats and pockets of industrial unrest that occurred in the maritime sector .

    The union had, in a petition to President Goodluck Jonathan, alleged that NPA’s continuous indebtedness to the maritime workers had become unbearable. It lamented that the parastatal’s management spends about N300 million monthly to pay illegal employees known as cargo surveyors, who they described as layabouts.

    The labour minister had summoned the management of NPA, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and other stakeholders to a meeting in Abuja to ascertain the causes of the ripples in the sector and how to avert the planned strike.

    Before the meeting, the union threatened to shut down the nation’s ports to protest unpaid salary arrears of members.

    President of the union, Anthony Nted, said the union decided to suspend the industrial action at the end of the stakeholders’ meeting presided over by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Iloh.

    He said the stakeholders would reconvene to agree on when the payment would commence.

    “At the end of the meeting, it was resolved that the NPA would need two weeks to receive inputs from the ports, determine the cost implications of the payment of arrears, interface with the managing director of NPA and work out the modalities for payments accordingly.

    “The meeting also noted the issues of the non-payment of salaries to tally clerks and on-board security men in different parts of the country and the statement by the executive director, NPA, on the insufficiency of the national budget for NPA for that purpose.

    “Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity stressed the need to redress all issues pertaining to the payment of salaries where relevant and arrears of the agreed increment,” Nted said.

     

  • Labour Minister stops maritime workers’ strike

    The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, has averted crisis at the port by stopping the maritime workers’planned strike.

    He met with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to avert the strike.

    The union was planning to shut down the seaports.

    The workers under the dockworkers branch are protesting alleged 13 months unpaid salaries of tally clerks on board security men.

    Sources at the meeting said the NPA requested for time to study the cost implication of the workers’ demand.

    Speaking with The Nation, the President of MWUN, Comrade Tony Nted Emmanuel, said if not for the minister’s intervention, the union had concluded plans to shut operations in all ports.

    He said NPA has agreed to pay the aggrieved workers.

    He said the cargo surveyors, which NPA brought allegedly in to supplant members of the union, are unacceptable and represents an attempt to deceitfully take over the job of the dockworkers.

    “Right from the time of Joint Dock Labour Industrial Council and the Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council, the status and responsibilities of dockworkers have always been spelt out,” he said.

    Emmanuel vowed that the MWUN would not relent until the tally clerks and the-on-board security  are paid their salary arrears, which according to him, would be 13 months at the end of the month.

    “On-board security men are involved in watching over cargo to avoid theft and over boarding and to prevent unauthorised shore leave through the gangway by crew members. Their function also helps to prevent attack of vessels in the ports by terrorist and pirates in line with requirement of the ISPS code on port and ship security and safety and that is the reason their salary arrears must be paid,” he said.

  • S’West PDP Youths Slam Bode George

    S’West PDP Youths Slam Bode George

    The former Chairman of the Board of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Olabode George, has been criticised for “his divisive and self-serving politics” as it relates to the activities of the Chief Ishola Filani-led Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South West.

    In an open letter to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the South West PDP Youth Vanguard, urged the party leadership to call George to order over his “surreptitious moves to throw the party in the zone into another round of fresh crisis”.

    The group frowned at George’s opposition to the decision of the Extra-Ordinary Session of the South West Congress to nominate a replacement for Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in accordance with the provisions of Part 7 VII, Section 28, Subsection 3, 4 and 5 of the party’s constitution and the order of the Federal High Court in Suit No. Suit No FHC/ABJ/C8/504/2012.

    In the 15th July, 2013 letter, which was signed by the President and Secretary of the group, Alhaji Akeem Salami and Mr. Kayode Joseph, the group wondered “how Bode George succeeded in snatching a position zone to Osun State by single-handedly facilitating the appointment of one Dr. Remi Akintoye from Lagos State as acting National Secretary of PDP.”

    “In a saner clime, someone like Bode George, an ex-convict, is supposed to take the back seat. Or is it not said that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones? One would have thought that given his recent experiences, Chief George would be more circumspect in his dealings. It is high time he knew that public institutions and organisations are not to be treated as personal estates where one sits in the comfort of his house or office to call the shots.

    “If nothing else, his odyssey over the contract inflation and splitting at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) should have at least made him more temperate. Whereas elsewhere, those who have had similar experiences as theirs draw useful lessons that guide them all through life, ours is the exact opposite. And like someone said it does speak to the reformative nature of our penitentiary system,” the letter read in part.

    The group, however, commended one of the leaders of the party in the zone, Prince Buruji Kashamu, “for his selfless efforts at re-positioning the party in the zone.”

    It urged the national leadership of the party “to identify, empower and encourage such leaders of the party across the length and breadth of the country; not serial losers.”

  • Anenih pledges to revamp NPA

    The Board of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) has assured the stakeholders of effective service delivery.

    It made this pledge during a visit to the 100-year-old River Port in Port Harcourt.

    NPA Chairman Chief Tony Anenih, represented by Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, promised to make the seaports world standard.

    Anenih said the board would do all within its powers to ensure that the seaports lived up to the expectations of the government, the stakeholders and the public in terms of service delivery and contributions to the growth of the economy.

    He praised the NPA staff for sustaining the River Port in the last 100 years of its existence and solicited for their support.

    A Director, Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan’Agundi, urged the management of the Eastern Ports to devise strategies of increasing the tempo of activities in the ports in the region and raise their revenue generation.

    He expressed concern that the Ports in the Eastern region do not enjoy the patronage they deserve, even though majority of the importers are from the region. He added that the Board was determined to reverse the trend, with a view to making the port attractive for business.

    The Managing Director NPA, Mallam Habib Abdullahi, who was represented by the Executive Director, Marine and Operation, David Omonibeke, said the tour of the directors was to enable them see the operation of the authority and to interact with the workers and other stakeholders.

    Also, the Acting General Manager, Eastern Ports, Mr Dele Alabi, told the directors of the characteristics of ports in the region, the cargos they handle and their challenges.

    He noted that despite their challenges, the region are important in to the nation, especially their catchment areas.

    Other Directors on the tour were Senator Lekan Mustapha and Mr Abana Mohammed Gidado.

  • NPA contributes N15b to govt coffers

    The Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) contributed N15 billion to the Federation Account last year, Transport Minister Senator Idris Umar has said.

    Speaking with reporters in Abuja, Umar said NPA generated N128 billion during the period.

    He said concessionaires had invested $475 million (N76 billion) on acquisition of modern cargo handling equipment and $450 million (N72 billion) on terminal development since 2006 when port reform started.

    “In 2006, the Federal Government carried out comprehensive port reforms that made NPA the landlord and technical regulator. Government delineated the ports into terminals and concessioned them to private operators. Terminal operators are responsible for all aspects of cargo handling and terminal upgrading under the concession agreement.

    “As a result of the reforms, the overall efficiency in the ports has been steadily improving, and there is appreciable increase in infrastructure provision and maintenance by the government and the concessionaires,” Umar said.

    NPA, he said, had completed massive rehabilitation of the East and West Moles (breakwaters) in Lagos at N16.6 billion.

    The rehabilitation, according to him, was done by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company; Royal Haskoning and Yolas Consultants were the project’s foreign and local consultants.

    Umar said rehabilitation on the quay wall apron of the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos was completed at N3.64 billion; and the rehabilitation and expansion of the NPA Headquarters in Marina, Lagos awarded to Sageto Nigeria Limited at N5 billion, is 42 per cent completed.

     

     

     

    The budget performance of the NPA is particularly remarkable, when juxtaposed against that of a sister-parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Transport – the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), which stood at 45.64 per cent, while the Agency remitted N309 million into the coffers of the government.

    Speaking with reporters after his appointment, the Managing Director, NPA, Mallam Habib Abdullahi, had expressed disappointment over the low level of budget performance attained by the organisation in the previous years.

    At the opening of a two-day NPA Strategy Session on Project Implementation held in Lagos, Abdullahi had said: “Among the various reforms undertaken by the Federal Government is the passage into law of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 aimed at bringing efficiency and value for money gains to public procurement. It established processes, approval thresholds and due process requirements for public sector procurement of goods, works and services. However, this has not translated to good performance of our capital budget for some years running necessitating that we adopt a new and sustainable strategy in order to derive full benefit of the process.”

    The NPA boss said: “To be sincere with you, the main essence of having this forum is because of lack of performance. I have been under intense pressure, in fact the management has been under intense pressure,

    “There is, therefore, the need to study the procurement process in order to ensure that we enhance our procurement programmes with a view to improving our budget performance for the upcoming years,” he said

     

  • Senate dashes hope of NPA, Shippers’ Council as technical regulators

    Senate dashes hope of NPA, Shippers’ Council as technical regulators

    The Senate Committee on Marine Transport has dashed the hope of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to become the technical regulators at the nation’s sea ports.

    The bill for the creation of a Technical Regulator is at the National Assembly.

    In their efforts to facilitate trade and stop arbitrary charges by terminal operators, both the NPA and the Shippers’Council have been jostling for the juicy position of regulator at the port as the legislative body is trying to create a technical regulator that will promote the interest of importers and other port users.

    But the two agencies are unlikely to get the nod of the Senate to take the position.

    Speaking in Houston Texas, United States, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Zainab Kure, said the Senate would not consider the two agencies in their efforts to create a technical regulator for port operations in the country.

    Kure said the Senate is not in support of any of the two agencies to regulate the industry.

    Kure said that before the bill which will soon go through second reading would be passed, it will first go to the public for their input.

    According to her, “We are not going to take any of the existing establishments, it is going to be thrown to the public to decide and whatever they decide will stand.”

    She frowned at the fact that there is uniform process for checking arbitrariness of port charges and further noted that the earlier the technical operator is put in place, the better there would be sanity in that sec maritime industry.

    On local shipping capacity, the senator said that she was not happy that the Cabotage law has not been implemented and blamed its non- implementation on the poor economic situation of the country.

    She, however, advised the Federal Government to float a shipping line that would help in the practical training of cadets across institutions in the country.

    On the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), the law maker said people were not accessing the fund.

    She advised those who have applied for the Fund, and to do so to enable her committee to take action to ensure disbursement.

    She said a letter would enable them determine whether the non-disbursement of the fund is deliberate or based on other issues. “We are going to look into it and we will be able to sought it out,” she said.

  • Govt urged to ban motorcyclists at ports

    THE Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have been urged to stop the operation of commercial motorcyclists at the Tin Can Island because of the danger they pose to security.

    Over 150 Okada riders, investigation has revealed, do illegal business at the port.

    Importers, terminal operators and other stakeholders alleged that the Okada riders are responsible for high crime rates at port.

    Most of the commercial motorcyclists at the port, operators claimed, could be used to attack the port, adding that they always drive against the traffic and move around the port from between 7.00am till about 8.30pm.

    Importers said they were not happy that the illegal activities of the Okada riders were being perpetrated in the full glare of security agents.

    When The Nation visited the port about 11.30am on Friday, and between 6 pm and 6.45pm last Saturday, over 150 of the riders were seen ‘on duty’.

    Apart from creating a noisy environment within the port, they also endanger the lives of the passengers they carry as they struggle with trailers laden with containers to find their ways.

    One of the importers, Mr Felix Johnson, said they were not happy over the development because in the past many people were either wounded or lost their valuables.

    He said most of the Okada riders were among those banned from the highways by the Lagos State Government.

    Also, a clearing agent, Mr Sunday Ogoegbunam, said: “Few days ago, officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and port police came to harass and detain some of our members that are doing their legal business at the port by calling them unwanted persons at the port. But why have they not arrested the Okada riders that are doing illegal business at the port? What are they doing here? Who introduced them to the port? Who is covering them up and because of what? These are the questions that need to be answered by those that are embarrassing our members at the ports.”

    Others bemoaned the activities of the Okada riders at the port, urging the Federal Government to do something about them.

    Efforts to get the General Manager, Public Affairs, NPA, Capt. Iheanacho Ebubuegbu, to speak on the issue proved abortive as he did not pick calls to him about 7.20pm on Saturday.

    However, the Public Relations Officer of Tin Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Chris Osunkwo, said efforts were on to solve the problem.

  • NPA to develop Delta ports

    NPA to develop Delta ports

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is to develop the Delta port and harness its potentials to make it attractive for business, NPA Managing Director Mallam Habib Abdullahi has said the authority .

    Speaking during inspection of the construction of some infrastructure at the ports, Abdullahi said his visit was part of efforts by the NPA to rebuild the port and reposition it.

    He said NPA would carry out the dredging, channel marking, wrecks removal, acquisition of new crafts and rehabilitation of the moles at Escravos to increase business activities at the ports.

    A channel management company, Abdullahi said, would be contracted to assist in dredging and maintenance of the channel and wrecks removal.

    The Port Manager, Mr Obumneme Onuenyenwa, regretted that despite the huge potential of the ports, only about 40 per cent of the land owned by it had been developed.

    He raised the alarm that some unauthorised persons were encroaching on the land belonging to the port, urging the management to tackle the problem.

    He listed some ongoing developments in the port to include its perimeter fencing, and the rehabilitation of the quay walls by Julius Berger and China Harbor Engineering Company.