FG threatens to scrap NIMASA over massive fraud, indolence

FG threatens to scrap NIMASA over massive fraud, indolence

January 19, 2016
•Cancels proposed varsity

Written by:

Taiwo Adisa And Ayodele Adesanmi-

The Federal Government on Tuesday said that it was considering a move to scrap the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) due to what it called massive fraud in the commission.
 The Minister of Transport, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, who stated this while in a meeting with the Senate Committee Marine transport, said that the government may be forced to approach the National Assembly to repeal the Act setting up NIMASA.
 He said that there was nothing to show for the N63billion revenue invested in NIMASA in 2015.
 He cited an instance where he discovered that there was no equipment at the agency’s search and rescue unit meant to monitor movement of vessels and provide treatment for injured personnel.
 According to him “Currently, the way NIMASA is, if you look at it very well, it was worse in the last administration. It was as if it was established just for the purpose of collecting money and nothing more. What we need to do is to ensure that NIMASA discharges its core responsibilities.
“If NIMASA failed to outsource its core responsibility then it has no business existing. If it is just to collect money from individuals, anybody can do that. We can hire a tax collector to collect money from maritime operators on behalf of Federal Ministry of transport.
“So it is either NIMASA sit up and carry out its own responsibility or we come to the National Assembly to repeal the Act setting it up and allow the department of marine security in the Ministry of Transportation, discharge the responsibility currently being discharged by NIMASA.
“We are not going ahead with the university project proposed by NIMASA because we have an institution in Oron, we have Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, and we have the Nigerian College of Aviation in Zaria which we could upgrade to a university status and NIMASA is proposing to build a new one.
“Who will attend the university? How many parents will allow their children to go to such place where it proposes to site the university? What is the aim of the university that we cannot achieve in Oron where they have the necessary infrastructure.
“I don’t think we are proceeding with the university being proposed by NIMASA because it is a waste of resources, and unfortunately a lot of money had already been released for the university project, hence there is no structure on ground but just the feasibility study.
“Whoever is holding on to the money should better return it. The Chinese company contracted confirmed that only the feasibility study was in place.”