NPA sold vessel for N48,000; port items for N1 each — Reps

An ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives investigating the sales of Federal Government property has queried the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for selling off a vessel at the paltry sum of N48,000 and some government assets at the Lagos Port Complex Apapa for N1 each.

The committee said NPA sold a total of 16 vessels for a measly N156.24 million in 2019. Among the vessels were PC Shelleng sold for N48,000; SPB 3 sold for N54,000; ML Pategi sold for N3.2 million; ML Misau sold for N1.06 million and PB Kabba sold for N5.4 million.

Documents before the committee also showed that NPA sold exotic vehicles like Ranger Pick-Up, Toyota Coaster Buses, Toyota Corolla cars, Toyota Hiace buses and Toyota Camry salon cars, among others at giveaway prices.

The documents also revealed that NPA sold 45 million other items at the Apapa Port, Lagos in 2022 at N1 each, thereby collecting N45 million after the sales.

The property was sold through an invoice dated 9 August 2022.

The NPA also sold 10,800,700 other items at its Apapa Dockyard in 2021 also at the rate of N1 each, netting N10.8 million in the process.

The documents further showed that NPA sold 20 million scrap metals at the Kirikiri Terminal II, Apapa, at N1 each, also netting miserable N20 million from the transaction.

Chairman of the committee, Julius Ihonvbere, adjourned sitting on Wednesday to 25 September to enable NPA officials prepare answers to questions posed to them.

The officials were directed to bring along with them a list of properties slated for auctioning and evaluation reports on the adjourned date.

He said the NPA officials should also present the committee with the names of registered property valuers involved in the transactions, and present the valuers’ reports and government approval for the sale of the property from the office of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

The officials were also requested to present bidding procedures, newspaper publications, selection and every other document that could assist the committee in its investigation.