‘NIMASA Owing MAN Oron Backlog of Statutory Allocation’ – House Committee

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

The aphorism ‘every day for the thief, one day for the owner’ appears set to play out at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN Oron, as the House of Representatives have hinted of its intention to investigate the cesspit of abandoned by contractors.

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Hon. Khadijah Ibrahim who dropped the bombshell recently at the Academy during its one-day oversight function, said the nation will no longer take kindly to contractors who abandon state jobs after the collection of mobilization; or almost the entire contract sum in some cases.

This is even as the Committee revealed that the 5percent statutory allocation due the Academy for almost a year has remained unpaid by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and lamented the unfortunate regime of holding on to the Academy’s fund, or, releasing them at piece meal as it suits NIMASA.

Speaking about the prospect of investigating failed contracts, the Committee Chairman said the proposed probe will be far reaching such that it would cover all cases of project abandonment dating back to the inception of the Academy; about forty years ago.

Represented by the Committee’s Vice Chairman, Hon. Uduak Ududoh (PDP-Akwa Ibom), Ibrahim said that the committee would soon officially communicate its intention to the institution.

“We will meet as a committee and mandate the Clerk to write the institution because we cannot continue this way. Tax payers’ money should be used to provide services for the people. No contractor should abandon projects after being paid.

”The practice of abandoning projects after receiving money must not be allowed to continue.”

He urged the management of the leadership and management of the Academy to demonstrate patriotism and expose members of staff involved in leakages deemed to have set its progress backwards.

”Some of them may still be part of the establishment, they must be exposed for the system to move towards,” he said.

On the executive rascality associated with the behavior of NIMASA in releasing the funds due to the Academy, Ibrahim said the former will be encouraged to devise a mutually acceptable way of releasing the fund without arrogating any sense of master-servant relationship.

”We shall summon them, every stakeholder should be seen doing their part to make the institution to grow,” he said.

Showing the committee members around the Academy with its sprawling state-of-the-art on tour architecture and alluring ambience, the Rector, Commodore Duja Effedua (Rtd) said that the academy was in a serious state of decay when he assumed office; and wasted no time in redesigning a holistic recovery plan, which did not go down well from the cabal profiteering from its decay.

He explained that the decay which was in all ramifications, cut across physical development, faculty, administration, works and maintenance, and  was so massive and bad that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) had threatened to delist the Academy.

”This was because those vested with the responsibility of running the affairs of the institution were chasing mundane things,” he said.

It will be recalled that in the effort to sanitize the system and refocus the Academy on its mission objectives, the cabal believed to be sharing the funds meant for its development, organized themselves into a syndicate  and pressure group, and subjected the Academy Rector to a horrendous, physical, psychic, psychological and official attacks; aimed at weakening his resolve.

When that failed, the cabal resorted into the campaign of calumny through frivolous petitions, character assassination and bad press; all of which figuratively sought to reduce the Rector MAN to public enemy number one.

Nonetheless, with over 700 such petitions written to various anti-graft bodies, intended to intimidate him, Effedua refused to back down or negotiate the future of the Academy.

Without any gainsaying, the resultant, unmatchable record of progress currently makes the Academy rank ahead of its peers in the West Africa region and sub Sahara Africa.