The House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, and his transportation counterpart, Saidu Alkali, along with other top officials, to address allegations of fraudulent concession involving certain ports’ infrastructure. Also invited for questioning are Mohammed Koko, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority, Mamman Ahmadu, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprise, and Michael Ohiani, the Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, among others.
The summons was issued by the Chairman of the House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Ibrahim Hamisu, during a meeting with seaport terminal operators in Abuja on Tuesday. The committee expressed dissatisfaction with the apparent lack of transparency in the concessioning process, allowing five companies to operate for five years without renewal and resulting in significant revenue losses for the Federal Government.
The committee set a deadline for the summoned officials to appear, stating that they must present themselves before the committee on March 12. The lawmakers emphasized the importance of addressing the prolonged renewal process to attract investments into critical port infrastructure, and they requested relevant documents from stakeholders by Friday.
Following the meeting, Hamisu addressed journalists and highlighted the need to investigate why certain seaport terminals were operating without a renewed concession agreement. The affected terminals include Port and Cargo Terminal, ENL Consortium Terminal C, ENL Consortium Terminal D, Josepdam Terminal, and AMS Terminal. The committee aims to identify and address the issues surrounding these terminals’ operations and bring about a lasting solution.
