Skip to main content

FG needs $1.1 billion reinvestment for ports concession renewal - Oyetola

The concession of the ports was being delayed to allow government conclude its reinvestment plan and reconstruct the ports to meet required standard.

The Federal Government requires about 1.1 billion dollars reinvestment in the nation’s ports to renew the concession agreement.

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, said this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation investigating ports concession in Abuja.

He said at the moment, the concession of the ports was being delayed to allow government conclude its reinvestment plan and reconstruct the ports to meet required standard. He said that the government would not seat back and watch the ports to completely collapsed.

The minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Oloruntola Micheal, said the present agreement between the government and concessionaires was unacceptable.

He added that it fell below the required standard, saying, “under the mordenisation programme of the Port, the Ministry is envisioning a major reinvestment in the port system to meet expected service delivery".

This according to him, will be commensurate with the image of Nigeria and the level of international business that Nigeria is with.

“The current situation at the port does not meet the required standard. The investment quatum that is expected to be invested in the port will require a major rethink of the concession of the ports.

“As a result of that, the Ministry, in concert with the agency, the NPA in particular has begun a process of reinvestment package for the port.”

Also speaking, Mohammed Koko, Managing Director, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) said the proposal for renewal of the concession agreement for the ports was submitted to the Federal Executive Council in February 2023.

He explained that the FEC put the renewal on hold demanding additional information, adding that one of the issues raised by FEC was investment as it relates to existing infrastructure at the ports.

Ignatius Ayewoh, acting Director-General, Bureau for Public Enterprise, said that the government reinvestment plan should stop the renewal process of the concession exercise.

He said “I want to say that BPE was involved completely in this concessions arrangement and till date, monitoring has been taking place and some of the status report as per performance will be provided for record purpose."

Rep. Ibrahim Chidari, Chairman, House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, said the Ministry must put measures in place to ensure that the government does not have to lose any revenue.

He said “after the expiration of the agreement in 2021, the terminal operators were given a six month extension twice and after that, there had been no extension.

“We don’t want them to continue to operate illegally because there must be no vacuum”.

ridoola.blogspot.com.ng
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Okpebholo suspends A-G & LG Chair under 3 months over finance dealings

The Edo Government has announced the suspension of Samson Osagie , its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, and Damian Lawani , chairman of the Local Government Service Commission. Mr Musa Ikhilor , Secretary to the State Government (SSG) announced the suspension in a statement in Benin on Thursday morning. ALSO READ: Kano Govt suspend 2 school principals for alleged absenteeism, negligence Ikhilor said the two-state top officials were suspended over allegations of “grave official and financial interactions”. Okpebholo suspends Edo Attorney-General and LG Service Commission Chairman According to him, the suspension, which takes immediate effect, is pending the conclusion of an investigation into the allegations. The SSG said; It is hereby announced for the information of the general public that Gov. Monday Okpebholo has approved the suspension from office of the Chairman of Edo Local Government Service Commission, Damian Lawani and Commissioner for Justice, Samson Os...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tinubu appoints MKO Abiola's son, Jamiu as SSA on Linguistics & Foreign Matters

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jamiu Abiola as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Linguistics and Foreign Matters. The appointee is one of the children of the late Chief Moshood Kolawole Abiola , the winner of the 1993 presidential election annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida . According to a statement by Segun Imohiosen , the Director of Information and Public Relations, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, Jamiu's appointment took effect from November 14, 2024. Imohiosen said the appointment aligns with the provisions of the Certain Political and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act 2008, as amended. Until his recent deployment, the appointee served as the Special Assistant to the President of Special Duties in the office of the Vice President. Tinubu tasked Jamiu to work closely with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and bring his wealth of experience to bear in his new ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Protesters block East-West road in Rivers, demand action on poverty & hunger

The protesters chose to spotlight the East-west road in the expression of their anger over hunger, poverty and infrastructure deficit in the supposed viable business area. The ongoing nationwide protest, on Monday, spread to the Eleme/Onne section of the East/West Road of Rivers as a large crowd of protesters stormed the popular section connecting the Port Harcourt refineries. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Akpajo axis of the East-West Road, up to the entrance leading to Indorama Petrochemicals, was taken over by angry protesters, who disrupted free vehicular movements. The East-west road is a major route connecting Port Harcourt city to key business facilities, like the Onne seaport, Port Harcourt refineries, Indorama Petrochemicals and more than six Local Government Areas of the state. The protesters, who carried on their activities peacefully, displayed placards with inscriptions, expressing dissatisfaction over the pervasive poverty, hunger and high cost of ...
Post a Comment
Read more