Maritime operators have raised the alarm of a likely loss of at least 20 per cent of the revenue expected from the sub-sector.
The loss will come, they claim, if the subsisting revenue collection arrangement with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation, is left unchanged.
To stave off the loss, the operators believe the Presidency and Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi must stop what they termed multidimensional under-the-table deals by top NPA officials, the ministry and their private sector allies.
The Nation investigations revealed that the ministry and the NPA have, over the years, entered into deals and embarked on initiatives that clearly shortchange the Federal Government, depriving it of huge revenues.
Industry experts contend that the initiatives, which ordinarily should deepen government earnings, have turned out to be drain-pipes, through deliberate acts of mismanaged to favour some private sector players and their collaborators in the public service, at the expense of the federal government, and by implication, the nation.
An example that was readily cited is the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone. Only on April 17 last year, according to the website of the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Authority, the Federal Government approved the Oil & Gas Free Zone in Lagos under an arrangement it described as private/public participation model with a company called Eko Support Services (ESS) as the key driver.
Further investigation revealed that this arrangement, riddled with several holes has left many questions unanswered, and indeed has put the
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