NPA: Why We Decommissioned BUA’s Terminal in P/Harcourt

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said it decommissioned the BUA Ports and Terminals Limited, operator of terminal B, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State for security reasons.

The Managing Director of the NPA, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman stated this while speaking at a quarterly stakeholders meeting organised by the NPA in Port Harcourt yesterday.

The NPA boss said her agency, as a responsible government organisation, took the step to save lives and limbs of those working at the terminal.

NPA, she added, took the decision for health and safety reasons after receiving a letter from BUA on security challenges surrounding the quays wall at its terminal .

She revealed that the terminal operator, yesterday morning, wrongly served the NPA a contempt of court letter.

But NPA, she insisted, has not violated any Court order that restricted the agency from terminating the concession agreement it had with BUA by decommissioning the terminal.

Bala-Usman urged Nigerians to ask BUA why it would want to continue operating from a terminal that it termed unsafe in a letter it sent to NPA.

“This morning, we have been served a contempt of court while arriving Port Harcout today. In November 2016, a notice of termination was issued to BUA Terminal for none compliance with the port development plan. As part of the concession agreement, there are certain developments that each terminal operator is supposed to do at their terminals. In line with the concession agreement, BUA was required to rehabilitate and reconstruct that particular terminal, but did not do that for years.

“When NPA did an inspection, their concession agreement was terminated for failure to adhere to that development plan. However, BUA instituted a court injunction that prevented NPA from taking over the facility. We got the injunction in January 2018. So, between January 2018 to June 2019, BUA enjoyed using that terminal in totality with collapsed quay walls and berths. We now received a letter from the same BUA, drawing our attention to the fact that the condition of the quay wall was deteriorating and not safe and it is at the point of collapse, and that they are very concerned.