Operators Owe Nigeria Maritime Agency $420.5 Million – Peterside

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has said that some operators in the maritime industry are owing the Agency about $420.5 from 2004 to date.
According to Peterside, at an engagement with the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration in Abuja, refuted the claim that the Agency was owed over $10 billion.
Peterside said that the freight element of shipping  of shipping trade in the last four years is not up to USD10bn, saying: “the entire freight element of shipping trade in Nigeria in the last four years is less than $10bn.”
In response to a petition received by the Committee purporting that the Agency had engaged a consultant  to assist in recovering its money without following due process, the Director General said that due process was followed in selecting the Consultant as the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) issued a Certificate of No Objection for the purpose.
He said that the Agency has been making concerted efforts to recover the debts with little success, adding that this had necessitated the Management, utilising international best practices, to employ the services of a consultant to assist in recovering these funds.
It will be recalled that the Agency had engaged the services of Messrs Snecou
Financial Services Company Limited to assist in recovering debts owed NIMASA which are put at $420.5 million with the aim of channelling  the funds
into developing critical infrastructure as well as engaging knowledgeable manpower for the maritime industry. [myad]