By Andy Asemota
The Senate has urged the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to honour the payment of the outstanding 40 per cent of the total generated by Transport and Port Management System of Nigeria Limited (TPMS) to enable it to pay all outstanding salaries due to its workforce from December 2016, till the expiration of the contract.
Also, the Upper Legislative Chamber urged the Accountant General of the Federation to confirm revenue generated by TPMS, paid into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and compute the 40 per cent due to the agency and make payment accordingly.
The senators gave the directives while approving the report of its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions in respect of a petition from employers of TPMS against the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the agency for alleged non-payment of salaries.
According to the Committee Chairman, Sen. Patrick Akinyelure (Ondo Central), the onus of payment for services rendered was on Shippers’ Council, based on the agreement reached before the commencement of activities of revenue generation for Shippers’ Council despite the claim of the council that 100 per cent of the revenue collected by TPMS was transferred to the TSA, hence its inability to pay an agency to enable it to honour its financial obligations of salary payment to its employees over the years. “After waiting unsuccessfully for the Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, to appear after three invitations, and also because the committee could not see any reason why the workers of TPMS should not be paid, it was decided that TPMS employees be paid their salaries without further delay,” Akinyelure said.
On the argument of Tahir Idris, representative of the CEO of Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, that TPMS Ltd was owing to the Council 3,620,000 Euros, an amount said to be three times higher than whatever Shippers’ Council was owing TPMS, the committee noted that it could not accept that argument because the Shippers’ Council was unable to provide evidence to that effect.
Akinyelure quoted the Group General Manager of TPMS Ltd, Anthony Falana, who spoke on behalf of his late Managing Director, Jam Jedo, and TPMS as saying the company actually had a 60/40 contract agreement with the Shippers’ Council but the efforts made so far to get their 40 per cent of 3.5 million dollars revenue generated by TPMS Since December 2016, had proved abortive, and the workers of TPMS had not been paid since then.
Recall that in accordance with Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council decision of 9th December 2009, that every shipper to Nigeria should declare all cargo under advanced cargo declaration scheme, The Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) appointed TPMS as the sole representative to administer and handle international Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) in Nigeria.
