July 02, (THEWILL) – The Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, has explained that litigation stalled the dredging of the Calabar channel.
Bello Koko disclosed this at the NPA Office in Calabar, during an official visit.
He disclosed that the contract for the dredging of the Calabar channel was awarded many years ago, but litigation stalled the project.
He assured that the Ministry of Transport, as well as justice, are working to ensure an out of court settlement with the contractor, so as to go ahead with the project.
The Managing Director said, “The contract for the dredging of the Calabar channel was awarded so many years ago, but there is a litigation between the NPA and the contractor and this has inhibited our ability to dredge the channel.
“But what has been done in recent times, is to start looking for an out of court settlement.
“The NPA is working with the federal ministry of transport, as well as justice and have resumed discussions in terms of how to settle this out of court.
“That has to be done to enable us know whether to use the same contractor to continue the dredging, or appoint a new Channel Management Company to do the dredging of the channel.
“We are taking the dredging very seriously and that is why we came in here to meet with terminal operators and assure them that the government is taking steps to ensure the issue is resolved soon”, he said.
He said the new management welcomes constructive feedback, adding that the management team is at the conclusive stage of work with relevant approving agencies to upwardly review salaries to boost motivation.
He also thanked the management of the Port, led by Olumati Festus, for their commitment to service and cleanliness of the Port.
He thanked the management of the Port for the feat in receiving a huge vessel, promising to work with them to ensure this becomes the new norm.
In his remarks, the Calabar Port Manager, Olumati Festus, thanked the executive management of the authority for the massive support to the port.
He listed a number of achievements at the Port to include improved revenue, ISO 9001-2015 certification, and many others.
As part of the visit, the Managing Director commissioned some projects including a fire station building, as well as a pilot cutter (PC BADARIYA).
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
