The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is demanding upward review of the Federal Government’s revenue sharing formula from 50 per cent to 80 per cent.
The Managing Director of the authority, Mr Abubakar Dantsoho, disclosed this in Lagos at the Nigerian Ports Consultative Council (NPCC) quarterly meeting with a “Simplifying Cross-Border Trade and Enhancing Ease of Doing Business at Our Ports,” where he was represented by the NPA Principal Manager, Statistics, Mrs Okenwa Igwebuike.
Dantsoho explained: “The major challenge is; there is a policy now that the federal government, from whatever revenue we are getting from the port, said they will be taking 50 per cent of whatever we have, from source, from the central bank.”
He urged the council to back the authority’s push for a review of the arrangement, saying that NPCC was invited to support the authority in engaging the Federal Government towards reviewing the current direct deductions from the source at an arrangement of 80-20 revenue sharing in favour of Nigerian Ports Authority.
Dantsoho stressed that the 50 per cent automatic deduction had constrained the authority’s ability to respond to operational emergencies, and stressed that developing transit cargo to landlocked neighbouring countries remains essential to achieving Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a regional maritime hub.
He called for continued stakeholder collaboration to support port reconstruction and modernisation projects aimed at improving efficiency at the nation’s ports.
Also, the President of the NPCC, Mr Bolaji Sunmola, assured that the Council would advocate on behalf of the NPA, noting that the Authority carries numerous obligations in developing the ports that require adequate funding.
Recall that the Federal Ministry of Finance in a circular dated December 28, 2023, had directed an automatic 50 per cent deduction of total revenue from self-funded super agencies to be paid into the federation account.
Previously, these self-funded agencies retained up to 50 per cent for operational expenditure. Since the policy took effect, the NPA has relied heavily on its selffunded internally generated revenue to manage capital-intensive duties such as dredging port channels, maintaining quay aprons, and upgrading port terminals.
