N5.1BN PROJECT SCANDAL ROCKS NPA

Investigations have revealed that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is currently engulfed in a N5.1bn contract scam over the complete rehabilitation and expansion of its headquarters building in Marina, Lagos. According to investigations, the complete rehabilitation and expansion of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), headquarters building in Marina,, Lagos was awarded at the rate of N5,001,785,839.05 to Messrs. Sageto Nigeria Limited on the December 22, 2010 with an 18-month completion mandate, while Messrs. AIMS Consultant Ltd bagged the consultancy job for the project. However, three years after the contract was awarded to both firms, the project is barely 50 per cent completed. According to a source who preferred not to have his name in print as he is not authorised to speak on the issue, "the NPA headquarters rehabilitation project has become another means for successive NPA management to siphon money.
"This was a contract that was awarded at a time the former Managing Director of the NPA, Engr. Omar Suleiman came into office. The project outlived Suleiman and is not even near the concluding stage under the new Managing Director "They keep reflecting the money for the project in the annual budget of the NPA whenever it is time for t budget presentation at the National Assembly, yet rehabilitation works has dragged at a snail’s speed three years after it was approved. "Members of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport and House Committee on Marine Transport have always raised questions anytime they are on oversight visit. It is gradually becoming an embarrassment to them anytime they are around. There was no response to messages and calls made to the Spokesman of the NPA, Capt Iheanacho Ebubuegou as at the time of filing this report. When our Correspondent visited the NPA headquarters in Lagos, not much has been done compared to the stage that the project was at the beginning of the year. no workers were seen working on the agency's building. Inside the building, it was however noticed that some offices which had been on the third floor of the building had been relocated to upper floors, an indication that the contractor has started working on the third floor of the NPA building. For instance, the MD's Correspondence which was on the third floor for years has now been moved to the fifth floor. How long the NPA building will continue to be rehabilitated, only time will tell as a new year beckons. It would be recalled that the NPA had recently claimed that capital projects being undertaken by the agency might suffer setbacks as the Ministry of Finance has refused to release over N18 billion that was accrued from the seven per cent port development levy since last year. The seven per cent levy is collected on all goods imported through the seaports. It is officially collected by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and usually redirected to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for rehabilitation and development of the ports 
Source: Nigerian News Direct