Abdul-Rahman Abubakar & Turaki A. Hassan
11 October 2008
Corroborating the position and presentation of the Minister of State for Water Transport , Chief John Ekechukwu Emeka, who appeared before the Senate adhoc committee investigating the utilization of funds in the transport sector from 1999 to date, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Abdulsalam Mohammed yesterday told the committee that the NPA has been irresponsible in its handling and spending of the finances accrued from internally generated revenue without the necessary approval of the National Assembly by remitting onlyN11 billion to the Federation Account out of the N548 billion it generated internally from 1999 to date.
The minister who Thursday testified before the committee disclosed that the NPA diverted the sum of N537 billion from its internally generated revenue from 1999 to date without appropriation or approval.
Responding to questions from the committee on why the agency remitted only 2% of its internally generated revenue to the federation account since 1999, Mohammed said: "We have been irresponsible in that aspect and I think that we should have done more and I share your concern."
"In January we remitted the sum of $5million USD to the federation account and lastly we also remitted another $5million USD," he explained. The Managing Director however contradicted himself when he said "we are allowed to expend money we internally generated by the constitution in section 80 sub-section 1and 3 which gives us exception on remitting money to the federation account."
The chairman of the committee Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (PDP, Bayelsa) queried the MD for misquoting the constitution as the NPA was not among the frontline agencies covered by the provision of section 80 of the 1999 constitution. "If you say that you are covered by that provision, then under what law did you remit the meager amount of N11 billion, representing only 2 percent of the internally generated revenue?"
A member of the committee Senator Patricia Akwaseke (ANPP, Nassarawa) also queried the NPA for not remitting the surplus of its expenditures to the federation account since 1999 and said "why do you have to assign private agencies to be collecting money on your behalf?"
Abdulsalam Mohammed, who appeared intimidated by members of the committee, pleaded to be allowed to sip a glass of water before answering the question. He responded: "NPA is not a revenue collecting agency but a service provider."
Committee members appeared disturbed when they discovered that the NPA had executed a N10 million USD Haskolling capital project unilaterally without approval from the National Assembly, Minister of Transport or the Federal Executive council.
Senator Sylvester Anyanwu (PDP, Imo), said "it is disheartening that you went ahead to award contract for such a project unilaterally and you are now asking for the release of the money."
The committee was initially billed to take testimony from six other private and public establishments but could not do so as the NPA MD, who was grilled for six hours was released by the committee and was asked to supply some relevant documents and re-appear before the committee on the 24th of October 2008 when the committee was expected to round up its public hearing.
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