Eromosele Abiodun

vantage of the federal government and foreigners. On assumption of office, she made it clear that investments by foreigners will be protected and the government must realize the needed revenue from those investments.Also, following an outcry by some players in the industry, chiefly among them, LADOL, over what they called monopoly by INTELS, her promise was that the sector will be fully liberalized and that was what happened.The following are some of the landmark achievements by the NPA under Bala-Usman: Cancellation of INTEL S’ s monopoly on Oil and Gas Cargo, ensured that INTELS is fully compliant toTreasury Single

Account (TSA) on Service Boat revenue collection, terminating the JV with Calabar Channel Management and Niger Global Ltd for non-compliance with due process and requesting refund of $15 million payment made do the company for lack of evidence of dredging claimed to have been done.

Others are“Confrontation with DAPMA over insisting that payment on harbour dues for vessels importing PMS are made in-line with guideline for rates of products sourced from West African Coast and those from outside the coast, a revenue of N13 billion was made in 2019, following the directive of full compliance, taking over management and board control of Agura Hotel through restoring NPA’s majority shareholding.

“Termination of BUA Terminal over nonadherence to development plan on reconstructing quays, which were to have been done 90 days following the concession in 2006, but was not done nine years later in 2016 at which point the concession was cancelled,cancelation of the Secure Anchorage Area. An anchorage managed by a private company providing security at a cost to vessels calling at the Lagos ports.”

Leading by Example

Just last week, the NPA sanctioned LADOL for violating the terms of the land lease atTarkwa Bay, near Light House Beach in Lagos.

This, it stated, was part of the efforts to boost accountability and ensure transparency, which is the fulcrum of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, as well as boost the confidence of local and foreign investors in Nigeria’s operating environment.

LADOL, it was learnt, profited at the expense of the federal government by sub-leasing 11.2426 hectares of land out of the total 121 hectares leased to it at the outrageous amount of money without recourse to NPA.

Thefirmwasallegedtohavecollected$45million (N16.2 billion) from Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria Limited (SHIN) for the 11.2426 hectares of land for which it paid only $524,105 (N37.73 million) to NPA.

Documents exclusively obtained byTHISDAY revealed that whereas the NPA charged GRML a rent of $104,821.95 per year for five years on 11.2426 hectares for the head lessee, GRML charged the sub-lessee (SHI) $9 million per year for five years for the same portion of land, collecting a total of $45million.

LADOL, the NPA revealed, did not invest its own money in the fabrication yard that delivered Egina.“Contrary to what they made the public believe, LADOL used part of the $45 million paid to it as sub-lessee fee by Samsung, for which it paid the federal government a paltry $504,000 for five years to purchase 30 percent equity in the fabrication yard.”

When contacted, LADOL’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Kunle Kalejaiye, said he was not authorized to speak on the matter, which he said is currently in court.

The documents showed that GRML was on January 1, 2003, initially granted a 21-year lease