Terminal operators must comply with concession agreement, says NPA MD

The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, on Thursday, said that all terminal operators must comply with the terms of port concession agreements and must pay directly to NPA.
Usman gave the directive while fielding questions from newsmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers.
She said that all revenue must go into the Treasury Single Account (TSA), adding that the NPA would vigorously pursue the collection of all outstanding payments by the terminal operators and other operators in the industry.


“All payment will be made directly to NPA and NPA will reconcile the payments,’’ she added. She said that NPA would review all concession agreements.
“We need to appreciate where we find ourselves today and take immediate decisions.”
On midstream discharge, she said that the management “is looking at safe anchorage’’.
She said that the management had seen the state of infrastructure in Rivers and Onne Ports, saying that the NPA would invest money into infrastructure only owned by it.
“We lease out lands to the developers in the Eastern ports but we are not able to ensure that the developers take possession of the lands,’’she said.
She, however, maintained that new security measures were being discussed as part of the priority areas of the management, adding that new access cards to the ports would be issued.
Usman noted that the current port access card was not sufficient to guarantee effective security in the ports.
According to her, there should be one standard certification of access to the ports and this can be conducted through biometric data.
She said that the priority of the management was good governance and transparency in the operations of the organisation.
“Pricing should be transparent for everybody to see.
“We are also looking at competition of operations and financing.”
The Managing Director, however, assured that the NPA would not continue charging people for services it did not provide.

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