Five years after, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions on Wednesday dismissed a petition against the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, over alleged N178 billion fraud.
The petition against NPA Managing Director, Bello Koko, was as a fallout of the agency’s 2019 audited financial statement.
The Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations in Nigeria had petitioned the lower legislative chamber, insisting on investigation of the NPA over “the N178 billion provision made for the bad debt in the Audited Financial Statement of the agency”.
Surprisingly, the petitioners refused to appear before the committee at Wednesday’s hearing to address the panel despite their invitation to do so.
Failure of the petitioners to appear did not go down well with the lawmakers and chairman of the committee, Mike Etaba, dismissed the petition for lack of merit.
Etaba disclosed that the NPA MD had been honouring the invitation and had stated his own side of the issue, “but for six times, petitioners have declined honouring the panel’s invitation”.
“This is the sixth time and the petitioner has not been in this place. The case is hereby dismissed,” Etaba added.
Parts of the petition reads “Our attention has been drawn to the 2019 audited financial statement of Nigeria Port Authority, NPA with special reference to Trade Accounts Receivable and the huge provision made for bad and doubt debts.
“Whilst we note that the position in 2019 would significantly changed by now, the poor quality of NPA’s trade receivable account is alarming and require urgent attention.”