The management of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has picked holes in the allegations making rounds in some quarters that it has been enmeshed in a multi-billion naira corruption.
The denial is coming on the heels of recent online publications alleging that the money spinning Federal Government parasatal which has Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is corrupt.
Describing it as “spurious allegations” that are “false and without any credibility” in a strongly worded statement made available to Maritime Bits, it addressed each point raised in the reports just as it offered a detailed clarifications and asserting its commitment to probity.
On budgetary oversight, it stated unequivocally that “the budget and expenditure of the NPA are subject to the strict supervision of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Budget Office of the Federation as well as the comprehensive oversight of the National Assembly and this makes the allegation of misapplication of budgetary provisions impossible.”
On the contract for dredging works at the Warri Escravos Channel, a critical area for Nigeria’s oil and gas operations, the NPA clarified that the procurement “followed laid down processes and procedure for emergency procurement as laid down in the Procurement Act, 2007, contrary to allegations in the report.”
It emphasized the necessity of the dredging to combat increasing siltation and prevent “international embarrassment and huge investment losses from shipping vessels running aground.”
On the procurement of marine crafts, the management said it was “carried out in line with the provisions of the Procurement Act, 2007.”
It explained that the acquisition was “initiated and undertaken in response to the exigency of ensuring national energy security through the implementation of sale of crude oil in Naira to domestic refiners which involved intensive offshore operations.”
While dismissing claims of document withholding, the management of NPA said: “the allegation of documents being withheld ‘for over a year’ is untenable, as the extant civil service guidelines’ governing the timeline for processing of official documents makes it impossible.”
It also denied any financial impropriety at its London Office, pointing out that “allegations made in connection with expenditures at the Authority’s London office are out rightly false as the dealings or transactions speculated in the report never took place.”
It explained that a significant increase in revenue for 2024 was attributed to “exchange rate gains, since the Authority’s income are denominated in FOREX in line with global maritime best practice.”
On staff promotions and appointments, it maintained that these actions “were undertaken to address the age stagnation of personnel in the Authority” and that “management however followed due process as prescribed in the Authority’s duly approved conditions of service.”
Clarifying the revocation of third-party contracts, the Authority stated that such actions “were in accordance with extant law as well as contractual agreements with all the concerned parties.”
It also debunked the allegation of low staff morale among its personnel just as it highlighted the “clearing of all outstanding issues of employee stagnation and the conduct of promotion examinations in 2024.”
“The management has received commendation from the two in-house labour unions for these reasons. So staff morale is at its peak currently,” it added.
In the same vein, it underscored its commitment to enhancing the competitiveness of Nigerian ports, noting that it “recently secured Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval for the commencement of the Port Modernization Programme.”
It also highlighted progress in “process automation through the Port Community System (PCS)” in anticipation of the National Single Window project.
The NPA management urged media organizations to “seek clarification of their reports from the Authority whose doors are open to constructive engagements and clarifications where necessary.”
It assured “all stakeholders and the generality of Nigerians of its unwavering commitment to deepening the competitiveness of Nigerian Ports through infrastructure and equipment renewal (which has commenced) as well as process automation.”
