NIMASA on Reps’ full status enquiry

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has been placed on full status enquiry over failure to present its audited accounts from 2015 to 2018 to the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, at an investigative hearing in Abuja, also placed the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation on status enquiry, while also summoning the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, over unaudited accounts of the NDIC.

A representative of the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, Mr Julius Dung, at the session confirmed the non-receipt of the accounts of both organisations.

The committee had last week summoned the Minister of State for Transport, Mrs Gbemisola Saraki, and the permanent secretary of her ministry to explain the continued shunning of its summons to the Director-General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside.

Peterside, however, failed to appear before the committee on Tuesday.

The Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr Gambo Ahmed, told the committee that the DG was out of Nigeria on an international assignment.

The committee, however, rejected the excuse for his absence.

Saraki, who appeared before the committee, gave reasons why NIMASA failed to provide its audited accounts, which the committee insisted was not acceptable.