Philip Nyam Abuja 
Another report from the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation has indicted the management of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) of massive financial infractions uncovered in its 2018 financial statement.
These infractions include failure to remit about N44.207 billion in taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and spending N88.229 billion as administrative expenses during the year.
The indictment is contained in the comments of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF), Mr. Adolphus Aghughu, on the consolidated and separate financial statements of the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) for the 2018 financial year dated May 24, 2021.
Following the report, the management of the NPA has been summoned by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives to defend the AuGF’s submission on its audited account carried out by the firms of Messrs Muhtari Dangana & Co and SIAO (Chartered Accountants).
According to the document obtained from the House of Representatives public accounts committee (PAC) , the management of the Nigeria Ports Authority spent N409.172 billion on property, plant and equipment in 2018 without sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to confirm the completeness, existence and valuation of the assets.
The report said out of the money, the authority made “provision for depreciation charged in the accounts that would appear to be understated by N12.486 billion.”
The report further said: “It was observed during vetting that the provisions made against four classes of Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE), namely: Roads & Sidings, Wharves, Vessels and Buoys did not correspond to the rates of depreciation reported in the financial statements.
The depreciation rates that were charged on the assets were smaller than the rates arrived at during vetting.
“The understatement of depreciation by N12.486 billion resulted to the apparent overstatement of the Net Book value of the Fixed Assets and understatement of the surplus for the year by the same amount. An explanation would be appreciated.”
The AuGF said further that wharves were disposed of by the management of the NPA at the cost of N254.827 billion without evidence of remittance to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, while demanding that the number of wharves disposed off, the cost and evidence of remittance be provided.
Similarly, the AuGF said the authority also reduced the sum of N126.629 billion in the period under review to arrive at trade receivable of N43.513 billion, saying “this showed very weak debt recovery efforts on the part of the management of Nigeria Ports Authority.
“The minutes of meeting where the group decided that these debts should be impaired should be provided. Detailed explanations should be given for the inability of the authority to recover its huge outstanding receivables. Details schedule of all the parties involved should be furnished.”
The report again said: “The management is also to provide a comprehensive financial report on how the N1.882 billion meant for Staff Home Ownership Scheme was administered considering the fact that the NPA severed relationship with Aso Savings and Loans Plc, the company that served as an agent for the creation of mortgages and the subsequent collections of repayments on the same mortgages.”