Nigeria concession probe: Reps give agencies and operators seven days to submit 2006–2025 records on ports and airports agreements

The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee reviewing concession agreements in Nigeria’s air and seaport sectors granted a seven day extension on Friday for agencies and private operators to submit documentation covering operations from 2006 to 2025.

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Chairman of the committee, Kolawole Akinlayo, issued the directive during a public hearing in Abuja attended by regulators and concessionaires including the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.

Also represented were operators such as Dangote Group, Julius Berger Nigeria, Joseph Dam, West Africa Container Terminal, Tincan Terminal, ECM Terminal, Ibeto Terminal and APM Terminals.

Kolawole Akinlayo said the panel had earlier fixed a 72 hour deadline but shifted the timeline to close of business next Friday after appeals from stakeholders, urging all parties to treat the extension with urgency.

Kolawole Akinlayo explained that the committee already holds substantial records from agencies for the period under review and requires corresponding submissions from concessionaires to ensure balance and accuracy.

Kolawole Akinlayo warned that failure to comply within the timeframe could lead the committee to adopt existing records and refer matters to appropriate authorities.

The chairman directed chief executives and heads of affected bodies to appear before the panel at the expiration of the ultimatum to address discrepancies and defend their records, stressing that the exercise is a constitutional oversight duty rather than a witch hunt.

Deputy Chairman, Harrison Anozie, said the probe would be evidence driven and anchored on the terms of the concession agreements, urging operators to back claims with documentary proof.

Harrison Anozie noted that the substantive phase of the hearing will begin after submissions are analysed against industry data already available to the committee.

Nigeria began concessioning major port terminals in 2006 as part of reforms to modernise the maritime sector, improve efficiency and reduce congestion, while similar public private arrangements were later introduced in parts of the aviation sector under regulatory supervision.

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Lawmakers said the Nigeria concession probe seeks to determine whether agreements over the past 19 years have delivered value to the Federal Government, improved infrastructure and met contractual obligations on revenue remittances and performance benchmarks.