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NPA Labels Corruption Claims ‘Without Credibility’, Reaffirms Commitment to Transparency
By Prince Benson Davies
The Nigerian Ports Authority has vehemently denied allegations of multi-billion naira corruption, labelling the claims as “spurious” and “false”. In a statement, the NPA’s management clarified that its budget and expenditures are subject to strict supervision by relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Marine & Blue Economy, the Budget Office of the Federation, and the National Assembly, making misapplication of funds impossible. The Authority also provided detailed explanations for specific projects and transactions cited in the allegations, emphasising its commitment to probity and transparency.
The management provided clarification on the contract for the dredging project at the Warri Escravos Channel, a critical area for Nigeria’s oil and gas operations, The NPA clarified that the procurement “followed laid down processes and procedures forthe Emergency Procurement Act, 2007, contrary to allegations in the report.
The Authority emphasised the necessity of the dredging to combat increasing siltation and prevent “international embarrassment and huge investment losses from shipping vessels running aground.”
Also, the procurement of marine crafts was defended as being “carried out in line with the provisions of the Procurement Act, 2007.” The NPA explained that this acquisition was “initiated and undertaken in response to the exigency of ensuring national energy security through the implementation of sale of Crude oil in Naira to domestic refiners which involved intens“the allegation of documents being withheld ‘for over a year’ is untenable, as the extant civil service guidelines governing the timeline for processing of official documents makes it impossible.”
The Authority emphatically rejected allegations of financial misconduct at its London office, stating that “allegations made in connection with expenditures at the Authority’s London office are outrightly false as there are dealings or transactions speculated in the reportthat never took place.”
A significant increase in revenue for 2024 was attributed to “exchange rate gains, since the authorities are denominated in FOREX in line with global maritime best practice.”
On staff promotions and appointments, the NPA maintained that these actions “were undertaken to address the age stagnation of personnel in the Authority” and that “Management, however,r followed due process as prescribed in the Authority’s duly approved conditions of service.”
Clarifying the revocation of third-party contracts, the Authority stated that such actions “were by extant law as well as contractual agreements with all the concerned parties.”
Claims of low staff morale were also strongly countered, with the NPA highlighting the “clearing of all outstanding issues of employee stagnation and the conduct of promotion examinations in 2024.” The statement further claimed that “the management has received commendation from the two in-house labour unions for these reasons. So, staff morale is at its peak currently.”
Moving forward, the NPAemphasisedd its commitment to enhancing the competitiveness of Nigerian ports, noting that it “recently secured Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval for the commencement of the Port Modernisation Programme.
The NPA management encourages media houses to verify information with the Authority to ensure accuracy and fairness in reporting, as it remains committed to transparency and open dialogue.
