We Remitted N30.4bn Operating Surplus to FG

• We Remitted N30.4bn Operating Surplus to FG –NPA

The management of the Nigerian Ports Authority has said that it has already remitted the sum of N30.4bn representing 80 per cent of its operating surplus for 2017 into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The agency was reacting to newspaper reports alleging that it had failed to remit the sum of N177bn Operating Surplus from its 2017 revenue to the Consolidated Federation Account.

In a statement on Thursday, the agency refuted the report in the media, which had linked the allegation to discussions that followed a motion at the Plenary of the Senate on Wednesday, November 28, 2018.

It said, “The sum of N30.4bn,which represents 80 per cent of the operating surplus that the Authority is required to remit to the CRF in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, has been duly paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund by the Authority with receipt of payment already issued by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.”

Analysing the financials further, the NPA said, “Total revenue generated by the Authority for 2017 stood at N309.9bn, total expenditure (inclusive of recurrent and capital) amounted to N205.8bn.

“Of the N303.9bn generated revenue, the sum of N60.12bn represents uncollectable revenue from concessionaires attributed to clauses in the concession agreements, which the authority is currently reviewing.

“Consequently, the operating surplus for the authority in 2017 was the sum of N38bn.”

It added that the computations arose from the NPA’s management account pending the conclusion of the audit of the 2017 financial statement, which was ongoing.

NPA added that it had also already remitted the sum of N11.3bn for 2018 CRF contribution into the CRF with the use of its management account ahead of auditing for 2018.

It stated, “The Authority wishes to state its readiness to present all documents needed to provide clarification to the Senate Committee on Marine Transport and the Senate.

“On a final note, while we appreciate the constitutional oversight role of distinguished senators on the operations of the NPA, we suggest greater restraint on issues that deal with the integrity of national institutions even as we assure of our respect for the Senate.”