Agbakoba seeks probe of ports concessioning
AGAINST the backdrop of alleged corruption in the privatisation of some public firms in the country, the Conference of Nigerian political Parties (CNPP) has asked the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to pick up the challenge of questioning the individuals mentioned in matter.
The coalition of political parties lauded the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Privatisation chaired by Senator Ahmed Lawan, for doing a good job by exposing the alleged monumental fraud, which subverted the noble intendments of the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999 under the watch of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Meanwhile, former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has urged the National Assembly to extend its probe of the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) to the maritime sector, especially the privatisation of the country’s ports in 2006.
In a statement yesterday by its publicity secretary, Osita Okechukwu, the CNPP said after the group re- submitted a petition to the EFCC at Abuja, “the Senate Ad-hoc Committee has thrown an open big challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and indeed the Chairman of the EFCC to prosecute Obasanjo for his alleged culpability in defrauding the Nigerian State.”
Okechukwu who submitted the petition said, “the verdict is that the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999, had been violently violated. Its laudable objectives of eradicating corruption, plugging the leakages in state owned enterprises, attracting Foreign Direct Investment and stopping rent seeking were smashed.
“We urge the Senate Ad-hoc Committee to invite Obasanjo to appear before it to state his own side of the story and go ahead to recommend revocation of the failed transactions.”
According to Agbakoba, the probe on the maritime activities would help Nigerians and the investing public to see that the ports concessionaires who won the bids for the takeover of the ports in 2006, have not fulfilled their pledges with the Federal Government to turn around the facilities as a market-driven sector of the nation’s economy.
The senior advocate told The Guardian in an interview that 90 per cent of the investment requirements port concessionaires pledged to undertake at the ports during the signing of the port concession agreement in 2006, have not yet been met due to government’s inability to appoint an economic regulator for the maritime industry to regulate and oversee shipping operations, as a way to enhance trade facilitation in the sector.
He said the BPE should be held responsible for the woes in the sector, which had witnessed dominance of foreign shipping companies at the detriment of indigenous ones.
AGAINST the backdrop of alleged corruption in the privatisation of some public firms in the country, the Conference of Nigerian political Parties (CNPP) has asked the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to pick up the challenge of questioning the individuals mentioned in matter.
The coalition of political parties lauded the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Privatisation chaired by Senator Ahmed Lawan, for doing a good job by exposing the alleged monumental fraud, which subverted the noble intendments of the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999 under the watch of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Meanwhile, former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has urged the National Assembly to extend its probe of the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) to the maritime sector, especially the privatisation of the country’s ports in 2006.
In a statement yesterday by its publicity secretary, Osita Okechukwu, the CNPP said after the group re- submitted a petition to the EFCC at Abuja, “the Senate Ad-hoc Committee has thrown an open big challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and indeed the Chairman of the EFCC to prosecute Obasanjo for his alleged culpability in defrauding the Nigerian State.”
Okechukwu who submitted the petition said, “the verdict is that the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999, had been violently violated. Its laudable objectives of eradicating corruption, plugging the leakages in state owned enterprises, attracting Foreign Direct Investment and stopping rent seeking were smashed.
“We urge the Senate Ad-hoc Committee to invite Obasanjo to appear before it to state his own side of the story and go ahead to recommend revocation of the failed transactions.”
According to Agbakoba, the probe on the maritime activities would help Nigerians and the investing public to see that the ports concessionaires who won the bids for the takeover of the ports in 2006, have not fulfilled their pledges with the Federal Government to turn around the facilities as a market-driven sector of the nation’s economy.
The senior advocate told The Guardian in an interview that 90 per cent of the investment requirements port concessionaires pledged to undertake at the ports during the signing of the port concession agreement in 2006, have not yet been met due to government’s inability to appoint an economic regulator for the maritime industry to regulate and oversee shipping operations, as a way to enhance trade facilitation in the sector.
He said the BPE should be held responsible for the woes in the sector, which had witnessed dominance of foreign shipping companies at the detriment of indigenous ones.
Before they will get around to this,only God knows
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