The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and other terminal operators over $852.094 million and N1.897 billion and other funds owed the federal government.
The Chairman of PCC, Wole Oke (PDP, Osun), disclosed that the investigative hearing was based on 12 audit queries by the office of the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF) on the NPA’s financial statement for the 2019 financial year.
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He, however, lamented that the NPA management had responded to only one out of the 12 audit queries which demanded the details of $852.094 million and N1.897 billion and other funds being owed the federal government by terminal operators.
Documents submitted to the committee by NPA have indicated that N269.410 million of the N1.8 billion has been recovered while the balance of N1.6 billion “invoices processed on the encumbered areas remain unpaid.”
It added that, “The sum of $504,663,452.37 is volume change on fix lease lease fee payment by APMT arising from clauses in the concession agreement between NPA and APMT out of the total sum of $852,093,730.77.
“Bills raised on encumbered areas which remain unpaid is $19,169,459.00. The following has been paid-GMT-$54,707,700.08, unpaid penalties- $11,922,642.68 and unpaid VAT-$28,693,707.07”.
“$92,533,518.72 has been recovered; leaving unpaid lease and throughput fee in the sum of $139,970,637.71 (made up of $113,982,486.82 and $5,988,150.89) respectively.
The committee, therefore, directed the NPA management to reconcile their records with the office of the AuGF and provide evidence of remitting the recovered N269.51m and $92.534m to the government.
