Despite the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on global trade and supply chain logistics, Nigerian Ports Authority [NPA] increased its Internally Generated Revenue [IGR] by 120% between January and September this year, its Acting Managing Director Mohammed Bello Koko told the House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Harbours on Wednesday. He said NPA has also reduced its operating expenses by 20 percent this year.
Bello-Koko told to the Committee that as at the end of September 2021, NPA earned N256.28bn in IGR as against the expected N214.65bn and approved estimate of N271.70bnfor the same period, representing a 120% performance or 95% of its total 2021 budget.
He said actual spending for operating expenses stood at N55.10bn as at the end of September 2021, against the budgeted figure of N65.49bn. this comprised employees’ benefits, pension costs, towage services, supplies, repairs andmaintenance and other administrative overheads. This was a savings of N10.39bn or 85% performance on the approved budget of N87.32bn, he said.
He also said in compliance with the quarterly remittance of its operating surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and provisions of the Finance Act 2020, NPA remitted N62.66bn to CRF as at October 31, 2021 while N89.9bn was transferred to CRF in the last six months. NPA projects toexceed its 2021 revenue projections and projected transfer to CRF for the year 2021 which is expected to be over N80bn, the highest in the Authority’s history. Mohammed Bello-Koko had headed NPA’s management for only six months.
The Ag MD also told the House Committee that contrary to news reports insinuating that Nigerian ports are the most expensive in the sub-region, a study commissioned by NPA with the support of UKAid in 2019 indicated that it is cheaper for general and container vessels to berth in Nigeria than in Ghana or Togo.
He said a huge chunk of what shippers or cargo owners spend to clear their consignments, including terminal and freight charges paid to terminal operators and shipping companies, payments for customs duty, inspection services, haulage, insurance and other sundry trade levies and fees are outside NPA’s purview. Apart from towage dues which was reviewed in 2015, Port tariffs in Nigeria have remained the same since 1993, he said.
