Expired Port Concession Agreement: Ministry Allays Operators’ Fear On Performance Audit

The Federal Ministry of Transportation has allayed the fear of terminal operators over the performance audit ordered by the minister, Mu’azu Sambo, on terminal operators whose lease agreement have expired.

A usually authoritative source in the ministry said that the performance audit would be carried out by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), with the support of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), with the report to be submitted seven days after the presidential election.

LEADERSHIP reports that the minister had directed the NSC to carry out performance audits on the terminal operators as part of prerequisites for their lease renewal.

While meeting with the NSC Governing Board members, the NSC executive secretary, Hon. Emmanuel Jime, as well as management staff in Lagos, Sambo expressed dissatisfaction that requests for concession agreement renewals from the NPA had been submitted without verifiable data on the performance of the terminals, saying that as the port economic regulator, NSC was best placed to perform this role, a development that is likely to pitch NPA against NSC.

The terminal operators whose concession agreement expired and are on the verge of being renewed are ENL Consortium, Ports and Cargo, Josepdam, and AMS in Warri, Delta state.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, the ministry source, said the minister wasn’t pushing to upturn the process, but rather, following the directive of FEC to carry out Key Performance Indicators (KPI), on the Terminal.

The source who craved anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak to the press, said the performance audit ordered by the minister before renewal of expired lease agreement of five terminal operators was sanctioned by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

According to the source, the minister authorised the NSC, to liase with the NPA, to carry out the performance audit in seven days.

The source, however, stated that the report will be represented to FEC in two weeks after the KPI has been carried out.

He said, “The minister was asked to present the KPIs of the terminal operators to the FEC to see their performance index. Also, he told the Shippers’ Council to work with NPA and that he needed the result in 7 days.

However, in the next two weeks, it will be represented to FEC and after a clean bill of health, it will be awarded to them.”

“The minister has no ulterior motives as peddled. The minister wasn’t starting the process from scratch rather to audit their performance, present the result and the processes will be completed,” he said.