COVID 19—Maritime Industry Donations Hit Over N782 Million. — NPA explains why it failed to give cash donation

Peter Olaniyi

The Maritime Industry donations to cushion the effect of the global COVID 19 pandemic has hit a total of over N782 million naira, aside relief materials and individual cash donations investigation has shown.

Findings revealed, that almost all government agencies including associations in the maritime industry donated cash and relief materials to curb the effect of the COVID 19 pandemic.

For instance as part of its contributions to the fight against the spread of COVID-19, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) donated the sum of N50 million and 20 ventilators.

NIMASA also volunteered its six fast intervention vessels to be committed to facilitate transport logistics support in the maritime sector.

Equally, Port concessionaires under the aegis of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) collectively donated the sum of N700million to the federal government to support the effort to curtail the spread of the disease.

Giving a breakdown of the amount donated by the terminal operators STOAN Chairman, Vicky Haastrup, said APM Terminals Apapa Limited, ENL Consortium Limited and Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL), all operating at the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, donated N150 million; N70 million and N10 million respectively to the COVID-19 Relief Fund Account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) and Tin Can Island Container Terminal (TICT) both at the Tin Can Island Port Complex, donated N100million each while Port & Cargo Handling Services, Five Star Logistics, and Josepdam Port Services, who are also operators at the Tin Can Island Port Complex, donated N75million; N75million and N60million respectively.

The STOAN chairman also said that West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), Onne Port donated N50million, while ECM Terminal, Calabar Port donated N10million.

She revealed that terminal operators also made donations of various personal protective items such as face masks, hand gloves, coveralls, hand sanitizers and infrared thermometers to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other government agencies at the various port locations across the country.

On it’s part the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) also donated the sum of N10 million, while the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr George Moghalu, also announced that NIWA donated N10 million to the fight against the pandemic in the country.

The Council for the Regulations of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) also announced donation of N6 million naira to the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Worthy of note is the kind gesture of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) who also announced cash donations of N1.450 million naira aside other relief and food materials given to groups and individuals in the maritime industry.

Other association donations could not be ascertain as there was no public statement as regards its donations.

Giving reasons as to why the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) failed to give cash donations, the spokesperson of the authority Engr. Adams Jatto, said the authority could not give any cash donations as it has already donated its three star hotels in Abuja to be used as isolation center towards curbing the pandemic.

According to him “You are aware that we donated our hotel the Agura hotel in Abuja to serve as isolation center, and we are the first person to have done that, for now we have not made any cash donation but we have done a lot to actually help cushion the effect of this virus” he said.