The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has kicked against the plan of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to concession all marine services to the private sector, saying that these are the only services left for NPA after the ports were concessioned almost seven years ago.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has kicked against the plan of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to concession all marine services to the private sector, saying that these are the only services left for NPA after the ports were concessioned almost seven years ago.
Addressing the press in Lagos on Wednesday , President of the Association, Comrade Umar Omeiza Jimoh, said the decision of BPE as contained in a letter addressed to the Managing Director of NPA dated Janaury 18, 2013 by BPE did not have legal backing and it would amount to re-concessioned of already concessioned services under public private partnership.
According to Umar, "the move of BPE to snatch marine/harbours ancillary services from NPA has no legal backing and the port activities enable NPA to involve PPP in all her service. BPE should remember that the terminals concesioned (PPP) by BPE, NPA and other government agencies was done under the port act of 1999. Based on the above premise, we believe BPE is suffering from reactive declining syndrome."
He noted that NPA is healthy and is carrying out all these services beneficially for the nation and there is no need for BPE putting plan for the concession of the services, advising BPE to stay of NPA and beam its search light on areas it has not performed better.
"NPA is healthy and we are on top of maritime business. BPE should flash its touch light on areas it has not performed well like NITEL, PHCN and others not NPA," he said, describing BPE as fronting agent for some cabal in the government.
To the labour leader, the concession exercise, if carried out, would lead to security threat, loss of government revenue, high cost of services, mass sack and denial of common user facilities in the ports.
Urging the government to stop BPE from going ahead with the plan, Umar has this to say: "the country has witnessed enough insecurity in the recent past. With her marine and harbours in the hand of private operators, one can imagine the chaos this will trigger security-wise. Gideon Okar's coup issue should be remembered.
"Today, government is earning revenue in its totality from services of marine/harbours and its ancillary services to the port users, if given to private hands, revenue coming to government will reduce tremendously while the cabals will be smiling to the bank and government will be strangulated. NPA has been effectively performing her responsibility in rendering monies to federal government account as when required.
"The cost of services rendered at the terminals (concessioned areas) today is three to four times higher when compared to charges of NPA then, this high has driven some of our customers to other sub-West African countries. We should be careful.
"The level of unemployment in the country is very high which is directly proportional to the level of crimes that have taken all facets of our life. This government is not in support of further loss of jobs both in public and private sectors. BPE, the advocate of job loss, should note that further job loss in NPA will be highly resisted by the entire workforce. It should be noted that as a result of terminal concession, over 8000 of NPA workers were sacked in 2006”, he recalled.
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