Senate Orders Probe Of Alleged $3 Billion Contract Fraud In NPA
The Senate on Wednesday mandated its committee on Marine Transport to carry out thorough investigation into alleged non-execution of contracts and financial recklessness amounting to over $3billion within the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA).
The alleged fraud, the Senate contended, was detected in series of contracts awarded to different companies in 2005 purportedly for dredging of Calabar channels in Cross River State, none of which is yet to commence up till now 17 years after.
The Senate also mandated the Committee look into the dredging activities, books, and records of the Lagos Channel Management, LCM Limited; Bonny Channel Company, BCC Limited, and the Calabar Channel Management Company, CCMC Limited, which are into joint venture with the Authority.
It took this step after considering a motion filed under Orders 42 and 52 on matters of urgent public importance and dispensing with notice for the senate’s intervention to urgently stop monumental financial recklessness and economic waste by the NPA under its joint ventures with the LCM, BCC and CCMC respectively, by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC Delta Central).
Senator Omo-Agege who led debate on the motion noted that LCM is a joint venture enterprise formed in August 2005 between the NPA and Depasa Marine International for the management and routine maintenance dredging of Lagos navigation channels; with NPA and TCMC holding 60 per cent and 40 per cent equity shareholding respectively of LCM.
He added said, “In continuation of NPA’s manifestly questionable and reckless financial commitments, LCM and BCM, through the NPA, have respectively requested for the sums of N23 billion and N20 billion in the NPA’s 2017 budget”
According to him, the Authority and the joint venture companies are on a course of absolute financial impunity and recklessness to wreck the nation’s treasury and stressed the need to urgently stop it in the national best interest.
The lawmaker added that BCC is also a joint venture company also formed in August 2005 between the NPA and The Channel Management Company TCMC for the management and routine maintenance dredging of the Bonny River and Bonny navigation channel, with NPA and TCMC holding 60 per cent and 40 per cent equity shareholding respectively of BCC.
He, however, hinted that the CCMC is also a joint venture arrangement between Niger Global Engineering & Technical Company Limited and the NPA for the management and capital dredging of the Calabar channel, with NPA holding 60 per cent equity share participation while Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited holds 40 per cent equity shareholding in CCMC.
He said, “Although these JVs are supposed public-private partnerships (PPP) conceived to reduce financial burdens on the Federal Government, the NPA has expended over one billion US dollars and two billion US dollars respectively on LCM and BCC from 2005 till date, but significant dredging is yet to commence on the Calabar channel notwithstanding that it is an economic gateway to the North Central and North East geo-political zones of the country”.
He said NPA has failed, refused or neglected to ensure the joint ventures compliance with the Marine Environment (Sea Dumping) Regulations, 2012 made pursuant to the Merchant Shipping Act, 2007; the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matters 1972 otherwise called the “London Dumping Convention” and the 1996 Protocol to the London Dumping Convention, as there are no dump sites for the management of hazardous dredged wastes removed from the Lagos, Bonny and Calabar navigation channels, thereby leading to sustained severe pollution of our marine ecosystem.
He expressed concern that “In spite of the so far unjustified huge financial commitment of the NPA to these supposed PPP joint ventures, empirical facts, evidence and data, including current Admiralty Charts from Lloyds of London clearly confirm that the depth profiles of the channels, particularly the Lagos and Bonny channels, remained significantly the same at 13 meters between 2005 and 2016, notwithstanding the purported claims of daily maintenance dredging of the channels by the JVs – a curious situation which must be looked inbto no matter any form of siltation”.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki reiterated the commitment of National Assembly to continue to support the federal government on the on-going war against corruption.
Saraki, who noted with displeasure why anti-graft agencies in the country are yet to uncover the alleged fraud and act accordingly, mandated the Senate Committee on Marine Transport to investigate the matter and report back within a week.
Idowu Samuel & Chris Emetoh
