I didn’t breach NPA rules, exempt Dangote, says Bala Usman
By Eniola Idris
The suspended Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, has dismissed media reports suggesting that the NPA management under her leadership breached official rules and exempted the Dangote Group of Companies from paying certain statutory charges at the Onne Ports, River State.
Bala Usman in a statement said the accusations are false and mischievous.
She said: “Even the letter dated February 5, 2019 (published in the media report), communicating the Authority’s decision on this subject to the management of Intels Nigeria Limited states in the last paragraph: “Hence, the Authority therefore directs that all cargoes of Messers Dangote Industries Limited and indeed all importers being directed to onne ports for customs clearance, specifically for these projects, and are multi-purpose in nature to be treated by applying the same operational rates used by other multi-purpose terminals.” This paragraph is explicit about the fact that all multi-purpose cargoes diverted to Onne were expected to benefit from this directive.”
Giving the background to the directive, Ms Bala Usman said: “Until 2018 when the Authority wrote when the Federal Government approved the decategorisation of Onne Ports as the solely designated oil and gas terminal in Nigeria, only oil and gas cargoes called at the ports, contrary to global practices in the maritime industry. “For reasons, which included national security, ease of doing business as well as the need for Nigeria to embrace international best practices, this oil and gas monopoly was removed in 2018.
