Legislators urge agency to manage budget judiciously

A Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Monday urged the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to manage its budget judiciously in view of the economic challenges.

The nine-man committee made the plea during an oversight visit to the NPA's Headquarters in Lagos.

The Chairman, House Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways, Rep. Pat Asadu, said the committee would ensure that the budget was spent appropriately.

Asadu said that the committee came to meet stakeholders in the maritime industry to seek their opinion on how to move the industry forward and to also find out challenges hindering their operations.

``The Nigerian economy is facing some challenges and we feel that all hands must be on deck to enable us to realise more revenue for government.

``We are also here to familiarise with the staff, not to intimidate anyone but to encourage them to be more diligent and focused in their operation in achieving all the proposals their budget,’’ he said.

Also speaking, the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Mr Samuel Anyanwu, said that the joint committee had been mandated to engage in oversight functions in ensuring that Nigerian economy ``does not collapse’’.

Anyawu said that the committee was basically around to assist in solving issues that were beyond the NPA's control, which might have been affecting smooth operations of both the terminal operators and port users.

``We make sure that the Senate approved the budget of NPA and it was our right in making sure that it was spent on the appropriate proposals the agency requested for,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Anyawu as saying.

He said that there was the need to collaborate in ensuring that Nigerian ports were attractive and cost effective to attract more users.

The Managing Director of NPA, Malam Habib Abdullahi, assured the two committees of the agency’s support and also pledged to work harder to fulfill the objectives of the agency.