The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) was asked by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts to call a meeting with the companies running Nigeria’s ports right away to find out how much money they owe the federal government.
Based on an audit query, the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation asserts that 18 port terminal owners failed to pay the government a total of $753 million and N1.61 billion.
After one of the terminal operators mentioned by the NPA as one of the debtors denied owing $4.04m, Oluwole Oke, the chairman of the committee, ordered the reconciliation meeting during an investigation hearing.
According to Oke, the Bureau for Public Enterprises and a few committee members ought to attend the meeting.
He claimed that the reconciliation was required to settle the dispute between the two sides on the precise sums owing to the government.
Oke mentioned that the committee had invited the terminal operators to submit their defence and that the government urgently needed money to fulfil its responsibilities.
The lawmaker said, “I want Nigerians to understand why we invited private companies. Ordinarily, we have no business with private companies. The Auditor General for the Federation indicted terminal operators for being indebted to the Nigerian Ports Authority.
“We invited the NPA and they have made their submission and gave us their breakdown of what the terminal operators owes them and that they tried severally to recover the money. For fair hearing, we have invited you because we cannot shave your hair in your absence. That is why we had to invite you so that we can hear your side your side of the story because we are at a crossroads.”
