BUA fires back at NPA, accuses it of misinformation
The Management of BUA Ports and Terminal, a member of the BUA Group, has told the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to desist from spreading inaccurate information about “the deliberate and illegal decommissioning of BUA Terminal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State”. The company said the action was done without following due process.
Responding to statements credited to the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, that the decision was taken for health and safety reasons as a result of failure of the terminal operators to reconstruct the berths, BUA disclosed that the NPA failed to carry out any of its own obligations under the Lease Agreement, which were necessary and required for any meaningful reconstruction to take place.
It also said that NPA had not responded to BUA’s several requests for approval to perform remedial action on the berth.
The company in a recent statement, said it had contacted a renowned construction company to effect the needed repairs at the terminal and thereafter paid the sum of E4.7million but that approval letters sent to the NPA for work to begin were without reply, thereby making any construction work impossible.
BUA also said the failure of the NPA to provide security for the terminal as required in the lease agreement had given way for nefarious activities of hoodlums and vandals, who over a period of time cut the pipes and steel beams of the berths, thereby affecting their stability and consequently making remedial works imperative.
BUA Group described attempts by the NPA to ensure it decommissions BUA Ports and Terminal without due consideration for arbitration or the subsisting court injunction, as scripted and in total disregard for due process and the rule of law.
According to the statement from the management: “It is gratifying to note that the MD of the NPA admitted issuing a Notice of Termination, but interestingly omitted to acknowledge that NPA failed to abide by the provisions of the Lease Agreement, especially the dispute resolution provisions. The Agreement provides that certain steps must be taken where there is a dispute which if cannot be resolved amicably, should be referred to arbitration.”
As a responsible corporate citizen, which appreciates the coercive powers of the NPA as an agency of Government, BUA approached the Federal High Court for the protection of its rights and investments. The court dutifully granted an injunction restraining the NPA from giving effect to the Notice of Termination and also ordered both parties to proceed to arbitration in accordance with the terms of the Agreement. In essence, NPA was enjoined to await the outcome of the arbitration proceedings.
“Rather than wait for the outcome of the arbitration proceedings, which NPA itself had initiated, NPA again issued a letter decommissioning the terminals, which is tantamount to an effective termination of the Agreement, ostensibly relying on a letter written by us requesting the approval of NPA (as required under the Agreement), to carry out remedial works,” the statement revealed.
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