The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) remitted a total of 74.938 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CFR), representing the full amount due for the year 2017 and 2018 respectively, according to Hadiza Bala Usman, the embattled managing director of the NPA.
A breakdown of the amount shows that the sum of N40.873biIIion and N34.065 billion representing 80 percent of the surpluses, were remitted in years under review. This was contrary to the shortfall in NPA’s remittances to the CFR as contained in a correspondence between the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) and the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
Usman in a memo addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, explained that the Authority’s computation of its remittances to the CFR are concluded arising from numbers from the audited financial statements using the template forwarded to the authority from the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and not budgetary provision.
“The Audited Financial Statements of the Authority for the period 2017 and 2018 provides operating surpluses of N76.782 billion and N71.480 billion for 2017 and 2018 respectively as contrary to the sums of N133.084 billion and N88.79 billion arrived at by Office of COS from the budgetary submission,” she explained.
She however insisted that the ‘claimed missing N165 billion’ provided by the Budget Office of the Federation as the Operating Surplus for the respective years on which basis they arrived at the shortfall are derived from submission of budgetary provision, not the actual amounts derived following the statutory audit of the Authorities financial statements.
According to her, NPA had remitted a total of N82.687billion for the period 2019 and 2020 pending the audit of the financial statement at which point the amount computed arising from the value of the operating surplus to the audited financial statement will be remitted to the CFR.
“The Audit of the 2019 Financial Statement has been completed and awaiting consideration of the Authorities Board at which point the final figures for the 2019 operating surplus will be determined for consequent computation of the amount due for remittance to the CFR,” she said.
However, Usman stated: “The Authority has also remitted a total of N82.687 billion for the period 2019 and 2020 pending the audit of the financial statement at which point the amount so computed arising from the value of the Operating Surplus in the audited financial statement will be remitted to the CFR,” she further explained.
Usman however, requested the Chief of Staff to call on the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, who is the statutory custodian of the status of payment to the CRF to provide the true position of the Authorities remittances to the CFR.
Despite this, Usman was suspended as the managing director of the NPA last Thursday by Chibuike Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation, an action that was against civil service rules for the removal of heads of MDAs.
She was not told what her offenses were, neither was she formally communicated, before her suspension was announced by the presidency, and this was against the processes stipulated in the government’s own regulation for disciplining heads of government agencies.
Industry close watchers, however, believe that there is a need to resolve the issues for the growth of the maritime industry.
