The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has commenced an investigation into the multi-million dollar debt owed the Federal Government by terminal operators and the failure by the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) to account for billions of naira accruing to the national treasury.
The Committee Chairman, Rep. Wole Oke, asked the Management of the NPA to explain why such a huge amount of money owed to the Federal Government by terminal operators has not been recovered and paid into the federal treasury.
The investigation is the sequel to 12 audit queries from the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation on the financial statement of the NPA for the 2019 financial year.
However, the NPA management had only responded to one of the 12 queries from the office of the Auditor General of the Federation on the indebtedness of terminal operators to the government to the tune of 852.094 million dollars and N1.897 billion.
However, not satisfied with the explanation on the issue, the Committee directed the NPA management to come and reconcile their position with that of the Auditor-General for the Federation and provide evidence of remitting the recovered N269.51m and $92.534m to the treasury.
The NPA is also to furnish the House with a contract agreement/Service Level Agreement, the list of all terminal operators as well as a comprehensive schedule of lease fees, Throughout fees and GMT that makes up the total amount being owed to the government by the operators.
The Committee is to invite the defaulting terminal operators to come and justify their reason for not paying the fixed lease fee, Throughput fee, and GMT, while the NPA is also to provide details of community-related issues that hindered concessionaires from accessing the encumbered areas.
One of the terminal operators, APMT, said to be owning the Government a whopping $504.663 million, is also to appear before the committee, while the NPA is to disclose efforts being made to recover the money and list of consultants engaged to assist in the debt recovery.
On the outstanding estate rent, shipping due, and service boat of N32,266,183,590.8 billion and $67,425,429.88, they asked the NPA to provide comprehensive lists/details/schedules of debtors who are owing legacy debts to the tune of 7,293,403,552.55, stating the outstanding debt against each of the defaulters.
The Committee also directed the NPA to avail it a comprehensive list/details/schedule of debtors who are owing the sum of 17,687,440,469.16 and $27,977,479.97, being shipping and service boat dues as well as evidence of remittance of the recovered amount totalling $6,647,297.72 to government coffers.
The committee is also demanding the current status of the underlisted legacy debts. Evidence of remittances of part of the debts to government coffer, if any is required.
