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House Orders NPA To Discontinue Dredging Contract Award

The House of Representatives has urged the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to suspend further awards of contracts on dredging and channel management across the country till … Continue reading House Orders NPA To Discontinue Dredging Contract Award


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houseofrepsThe House of Representatives has urged the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to suspend further awards of contracts on dredging and channel management across the country till the House concludes an investigation into all agreements entered into by the agency.

This followed a motion by Representative Herman Hembe on the need to investigate dredging arrangements entered into by the NPA and sub-contracting parties that carry out dredging operations in Nigerian waters, insisting that “Nigerians were not reaping the benefits of the contracts because the NPA engaged private individuals who lacked the capacity to deliver the projects”.

He noted that “the issue here, Mr. Speaker, is that the NPA spends billions of dollars on these dredging contracts.

“What we hear is that most of the private companies that are contracted to do the dredging are not equipped and they don’t have the capacity to deliver.

“The award of further dredging contracts by the NPA should be suspended pending the outcome of an investigation to be conducted into the matter by the House Committee on Marine Transport,” Hembe added.

The House has directed its Committee on Marine Transport, chaired by Representative Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to among other things; look into all monies disbursed in respect of channel management and capital dredging projects.