- NASS accuse MD of disrespect
By Alli Folashade Temitope
Members of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport were displeased over the weekend with the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority for attempting to deliberately botch its statutory oversight visit, despite a two weeks notice.
A visibly miffed Senate Committee Chairman on Marine Transport, Hajia Zaynab Kure voiced her displeasure at the shabby way the NPA Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi handled their visit to the agency, which she tagged a sign of disrespect to her and other members of the committee.
The Senate Committee was in Lagos to assess ongoing projects and state of affairs of the NPA, before passing the agency’s 2014 budget, but were surprised to witness the absence of the Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance & Administration, Mr. Olumide Oduntan, also most other bigwigs of the NPA were absent.
Reacting, Hajia Zaynab Kure said, “on behalf of my distinguished colleagues, I want to express my disappointment and displeasure, and of cause embarrassment at your MD inability to receive an esteemed committee made up of distinguished Senators that have come on an oversight function to the NPA.”
Adding that, “this honourable committee wrote about two weeks ago to NPA that we are coming on a constitutional and statutory assignment. If for any reason the MD, who must have received the letter, knew he won’t be around to receive us, he should have written back to us that he has another assignment that he feels is much more important than receiving this committee”, she lamented .
“But there was no communication. I only got a call from the NPA MD on my way to the airport, by which time all my other colleagues have even boarded the aircraft, informing me that he won’t be able to receive us.”
“I did not tell my other colleagues because I thought that if I had done that, i won’t be doing justice to what has brought us here. I wanted everybody to come and see things for themselves. Except for one of us, every other member of this committee is here for this oversight visit”.
“We are all here because we have taken our job so seriously. Most of us left other important assignment back home because we want to discharge our responsibilities as a committee that is concerned about the maritime sector of this country.
“But for us to get here and the MD is not here, I must tell you that the committee is seriously disappointed and we are not happy at all. We want you to communicate same to your MD.
“We know that you are working as a team but the MD has no right, whatsoever, to have treated us the way we are treated today. We should have known that he won’t be here and would have possibly rescheduled our trip.”
Corroborating her, another member of the committee, Senator Ben Ayade called the action of the NPA MD as an absolute disrespect to the National Assembly.
In his words, “the last time we were here, the NPA MD was eager to receive us. However, that enthusiasm has dwindled.
“I feel highly compromised. I think there is an absolute disrespect for the National Assembly. This conduct is deliberate. I find it very insulting.
“In this committee, we have not less than two ex-Governors. We have wives of former Governors; we have former Directors of the NPA. I find it very insulting for the MD of the NPA to be away when we are here on oversight duties.
“It means we are not a priority to him. There can’t be anything more insulting. For me, as far as i am concerned, I am done with NPA”, He said.
However, Senator Abubakar Sadiq Yar’adua a member of the committee and a former director at the NPA said their actions is totally unexplainable, with the poor attendance of the NPA management.
“It is not only that the MD is not here. One of the Executive Directors and many of the General Managers are also not here. We only have one General Manager here when the NPA has up to about 10 General Managers.
“It means the NPA MD does not take us serious. I was his boss when I was in the NPA. He reported to me as a General Manager. I think there is no need for us wasting time here at the NPA.
“Let’s just go and leave them. If NPA think they can operate without us, we will see to that. We are here to ask questions on the performance of the budget, but it’s a pity that all those who are in a better position to give us such details are not here. Can the NPA MD treat the Minister of Transport like this? This behaviour is totally unacceptable,” he stated.
“We feel it is pertinent that we appraise NPA’s performance with the 2013 budget before passing the 2014 budget of the agency. But now that nobody is here to give us brief of what has been done with the 2013 budget, our hands are tied on what to do with the 2014 appropriation budget.
“If we wanted just the budget performance appraisal, we could do it in Abuja. But we wanted to come and see on-going projects, that is why we came down to Lagos” She stated.
Meanwhile, the committee has vowed not to pass the agency’s 2014 budget until the agency has satisfactorily revealed to it all ongoing projects and their stages.