Reps: How NPA sold 16 vessels at N156m

An ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives has quizzed the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) over the sale of 16 vessels for N156.24 million in 2019.

Among the vessels were ML Pategi sold at N3.2 million; ML Misau sold at N1.06 million; PB Kabba sold at N5.4 million; SPB 3 sold at N54,000; and PC Shelleng sold at N48,000.

Documents before the committee also showed that NPA sold exotic vehicles like Ranger Pick-Up, Toyota Coaster Buses, Toyota Corolla cars, Toyota Hiace buses, and Toyota Camry Salon Cars, among others at cheap prices

The documents equally indicated that NPA sold 45 million other items at the Apapa Port in Lagos in 2022 at N1 million each, thereby collecting N45 million after the sales.

The property was sold through an invoice dated August 9, 2022.

The NPA also sold 10,800,700 other items at its Apapa Dockyard in 2021 also at the rate of N1 million each, netting N10.800 million in the process.

The documents further showed that the NPA sold 20 million scrap metals at the Kirikiri Terminal II, Apapa, at N1 million each, thereby netting N20 million.

The chairman of the committee, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, however, adjourned sitting on Wednesday to September 25 to enable NPA officials to prepare answers to questions posed at them.

The officials were directed to bring along with them a list of properties slated for auctioning and evaluation reports on the adjourned date.

Ihonvbere said the NPA officials should also present the committee with the names of registered property valuers involved in the transactions.

The officials were also directed to present the valuers’ reports and government approval for the sale of the property from the office of the Bureau of Public Procurement.

The officials were also directed to present Certificates of No Objection to the sales by appropriate government agencies and evidence of remittances of accrued revenue into the Federal Government’s coffers.

Ihonvbere also told the NPA officials to present bidding procedures, newspaper publications, selection, and every other document that could assist the committee in its investigation.

The committee’s job is to unravel the extent of illegal auctioning of public property, non-remittance of revenue realised into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government from 2010 to 2022.

The Star