By Ade Jacobs
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has been accused by the Senate of paying a whopping sum of N1.5 billion to contractors without executing any contract.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee investigated the top maritime agency on the matter and came up with a damning verdict last week, after the chairman of the committee, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, said the maritime regulator was given the opportunity to clear the air on the matter, but failed to appear before the committee.
The office of the Auditor General of the Federation had, in a 2015 report, indicted NIMASA of paying the amount to contractors.
The AGF also queried some officials of the agency for diverting over N100 million meant for the establishment of the Maritime Institute at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State.
The 2015 report which indicted NIMASA read in part, “A total sum of N8.6m was paid to a company as contract/professional fees for store organisation audit and inventory management system vide two payment vouchers Nos. UBA/EP/12/00309 of 8/3/12 and UBA/EP/13/0267 of 21/3/13.The contract entailed core store organisation and inventory management system aimed at efficient record-keeping, asset location and so on.
“However, a physical audit verification of the store showed that this job was not carried out as assets worth billions of naira could not be effectively located and accounted for, contrary to the purpose of the contract.
“The payment for this contract contravenes Financial Regulation 3104(iii), which guards against payments for jobs not executed.
“The director-general has been requested to take procedural disciplinary measures against all officers responsible for the approval and payment for jobs not executed.
“He should also recover and refund to the treasury, the sum of N8.6m being irregular payment, furnishing recovery particulars for verification.”
On the alleged misappropriation of over N100 million meant for UNN, the AGF said, “The audit inspection visit to the maritime institute at the university on 16th August, 2015 revealed that the bursary unit of the university acknowledged only the sum of N138.5m as the release for the establishment of the Maritime Institute, Nsukka and not N240m raised in the payment voucher,” leaving a difference of N101.4 million that could not be accounted for.