The House of Representatives adhoc committee investigating the benefits accruing to the federal government from the concessioning of Nigerian Ports and terminals has threatened to invoke relevant sections of the 1999 constitution and order the arrest of Heads of government agencies that has refused to cooperate with it in an ongoing investigation.
The committee expressed displeasure over refusal of some government agencies to honour invitations from the committee and provide necessary documents needed for the committee assignment.
Chairman of the Committee, Kolawole Akinlayo said at a news conference on Friday that the Committee was not happy that agencies and companies invited are frustrating the efforts of the committee by either refusing to appear or providing incomplete documents that will not assist in the assignment.
He listed the affected agencies as “They include the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), NIMASA, NLNG, INTELS and Julius Berger Plc.
He said the committee may be forced to invoke the relevant sections of the Nigerian constitution to compel the agencies from appearing before the committee.
The Committee was set up by the House to investigate and appraise the performance and benefits accruing to the Federal Government from all concessionaire operated ports (Air and Sea) terminals and related inbound and outbound shipping activities from 2006 to 2025.
Akinlayo said the committee was mandated to among other things examine the terms and conditions of concession agreements entered into from 2006 to 2025; carry out an assessment of revenue flows, remittances, and other financial benefits accruing to the Federal Government and its agencies and review the compliance with contractual, regulatory, and safety obligations by concessionaires.
The committee is also mandated to carry out an appraisal the infrastructural development, operational efficiency, service quality, and labour issues; identify challenges, gaps, and systemic weaknesses within the concession framework; and formulate clear and practicable recommendations to improve policy, legislation, and future concession arrangements.
He said further that the Committee was constituted in response to growing national concern over the management, performance, transparency, and value outcomes of concession arrangements governing some of Nigeria’s most strategic public assets.
He said, “These assets—our seaports, airports, terminals, and jetties—are not ordinary commercial facilities. They are sovereign economic gateways, national security infrastructure, and critical enablers of trade, mobility, and development.
“Since the exercise commenced, members of this Committee have approached this mandate with the highest sense of duty, responsibility, professionalism, and commitment to the national interest. We have been transparent and very democratic in the exercise of our powers and have restrained ourselves from high handedness.
“Unfortunately, more than one month into this onerous assignment, we have been faced with the daunting challenge of compelling relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government to appear and provide the necessary and required information to enable the Committee completes its work within the stipulated time. Although some stakeholders have been very cooperative.”
He said the committee is determined to fulfill its mandate as assigned by the House, warning heads of MDAs and their management not to constitute a clog in the wheel of this Committee in carrying out this assignment.
He said, “Many of the important agencies have on several occasions deliberately refused to honour the invitation of the Committee for no just cause. In fact, some of the agencies that have so far appeared before the Committee could not submit the required documents.
“For example, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) had appeared before us but disappointedly failed to comply fully with our requests.
“In the light of the foregoing, we wish to give the last warning to the chief executive officers and heads of the following agencies to change their attitude towards the committee or have themselves to blame.
“Henceforth, this Committee will no longer tolerate contempt of the parliament and we have resolved to invoke the statutory constitutional provisions to compel any erring CEO/head to appear before it.
“You are aware that Section 89 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution (As amended) have provided a list of guidelines and powers that are to assist the legislature in carrying out its oversight functions. These include issuing summons, warrants and fines when its orders, as approved by the Constitution, are violated.
“In more drastic instances, the legislature has the constitutional power to recommend the removal of office holders, where it is believed that the office holder(s) is not effectively discharging his constitutional or statutory duties.
“I wish to state without mincing words that this Committee will not hesitate to subpoena any disrespectful and uncooperative CEO/head of MDAs; we will not develop cold feet in directing the Inspector General of Police to arrest any CEO or head of MDAs that fails to honour our invitation.
“Anyone who is out to sabotage our work will no longer be given the oxygen to undermine the legislature. We shall invoke the necessary constitutional provisions to compel compliance with the directives of the Committee.
“We are not witch-hunting anybody or organisation but the mandate given to us by the House must be accomplished and in doing so, we will not spare any CEO or officer or individual or group that have resolved to treat the parliament with contempt.
“Like I have always said, Nigerians deserve to know whether these concessions have delivered value for money, complied with contractual obligations, enhanced national competitiveness, protected public assets, and contributed meaningfully to economic growth, employment, and revenue generation. And the only way we can get these answers is to judiciously engage with all the stakeholders.
“On behalf of the Ad hoc Committee and indeed the leadership of the House of Representatives, I hereby appealed to the aforementioned organisations and agencies to kindly comply with the letters of invitations extended to them. We shall not entertain any frivolous excuses because this assignment must be timeously executed”.
