The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); Ms Hadiza Bala Usman said yesterday that the agency has terminated the lease agreement it signed in 2006with some terminal operators.
Even though she declined to give names of the affected concessionaires, the NPA boss revealed that the agreements were terminated because the terminal operators failed to abide by provisions of the agreement.
She stated this at a one – day seminar on: 'Making Nigerian Ports a Preferred Destination in West and Central Africa Sub-region".
The NPA boss represented by the Assistant General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Planning, Western Ports, Mr. Innocent Gambon Umar, also said that passage of the Ports and Harbour Bill will lead to increase in revenue accruable to the Federal Government from the ports.
She also said that other ways to boost NPA revenue includes; dredging of the channel to allow deep drafted vessels, monitoring of terminals and jetties towards tracking tonnage handled, virile port promotions, effective monitoring of offshore operations among others.
She lamented that political interference and injection of private interest has over the years affected the efficiency of the NPA in generating revenue.
According to her, bureaucratic red – tapes, youths restiveness at the eastern ports, shallow depth of the long river channels are some of the other challenges which has militated against efficient operations at the eastern ports.
Speaking on the termination of the agreement, Hadiza said: "The concession has three parties and all of us have equal standing, NPA represents the Federal government, what we have done over the years is to monitor the development plan of the operators in line with the lease agreement"
In some terminals, we have had challenges with them because of their not meeting with the development plan in the lease agreement, they all have reasons for not meeting up this development plan, we are trying to resolve some of these reasons"
"Some of the terminals in the eastern ports have not repaired the key walls that have collapsed over the years and they tell you that it is due to one or two things that has happened in the industry"
"One of them have been served letter of termination of lease agreement. One that has been terminated in the past is the Koko port, because they did not meet the commitment to the development plan seven years ago"
"This one will soon be out, we won't mention names, but we have served them termination of their lease" she said.
On cargo handling equipment which was listed in the development plan, Hadiza rates all terminal operators over 70 per cent on performance and compliance.
Speaking on recent efforts taken by her management to boost NPA revenues, she said that the agency has developed functional website with requisite trade information that is hyperlinked with trade information.
She said that the agency have also established various IT platforms for raising of bills, payments, coastal and channel surveillance and digital vessel movement tracking among others.
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