A debt of more than $15million ( or about N7billion), coupled with a probe by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) are currently stalling further works on the controversial Calabar Port channel dredging project.
Disclosing this at a recent joint meeting of both committees of the Senate and House of Representatives on Maritime Transport and National Council Privatization, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA; Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman said that she was not sure if the dredging was actually carried out on the port channel.
Shipping Position Daily who was at the meeting confirmed that Usman told the joint committees that the NPA has commenced another review of the controversial contract.
She confirmed that NPA had already contracted a new consultant to ascertain if actual dredging was done or not adding that until this was the agency will not able to make any payment.
Usman said: “There is an EFCC investigation on the Calabar Port channel dredging project, just as the Ministry of Transport has also directed the management of the NPA to carry out its own internal findings.
“The Calabar Port channel dredging has become very controversial; there is a need to tread carefully on the matter”, she told the lawmakers.
According to the NPA boss, the management had met with the Calabar Channel Management (CCM) Company demanding the hydrographic report and a full data on the status of the contract.
She also hinted that the NPA will also have to wait for the outcome of both the EFCC and NPA’s internal investigation before any payment can be made, or any progress can be made on the project.
She explained to the Committees that the contractor for the dredging of the channel (Messrs Nigerglobal) went to contract a consultant to carry an audit exercise of its dredging activities at the Calabar port.
She was of the opinion that the contractor cannot be paying an audit firm to audit its activities and expects to be faulted in any way.
According to her, “besides, NPA owns 60 per cent of the joint venture company known as the Calabar Channel Management Limited.
“We will not make a payment of over 15million Dollars until we are sure that dredging work was actually carried out.
“There was an audit firm that audited the dredging of the channel and was also being paid by the dredging company Nigerglobal, meaning that there was a conflict of interest”.
“Internally, we will ensure that everything that has to do with the Calabar dredging was done following due process”, she added, even as she assured that, “NPA is driving the need to stimulate growth in the eastern part of the country and Calabar is very key to this initiative through the dredging of the Calabar port channel”.
“We will not hold Calabar Port hostage, our consultant will find out if actual dredging was done or not.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that the $56 million contract for the dredging of Calabar Port Channel was awarded in 2006 and remains uncompleted till date.
The Federal Government awarded another contract in November 2014 at N20 billion to complete the project.
Specifically, the contract was awarded at the initial sum of N3 billion in 1996 but it was later re-awarded in 2006 at $56 million. The contract, which was signed by the NPA, the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) and the Calabar Channel Management, was for the port to be dredged up to 9.8 metres.
Efforts by our correspondent to speak with the Managing Director of Calabar Channel Management; Mr. Van Bert and the Chairman of Nigerglobal; Senator Hope Uzodimma last week were unsuccessful.
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