AN audit firm contracted by the Federal Ministry of Transport recently to investigate contracts awarded by its agencies between January and June, has reported a N2.4 billion and $1.8 million worth of contracts awarded by the board and executive the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety agency (NIMASA) with recourse to due process.
Meanwhile, the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has condemned alleged frequent removal of Directors-General of NIMASA on grounds of what it called “unfounded allegations.”
The group said it was unimpressed with alleged politicisation of the key maritime parastatal, insisting that the trend was capable of destabilising NIMASA.
Acting President, CLO, Igho Akeregha, who addressed the media alongside other executives of the group urged President Goodluck Jonathan to stabilise NIMASA and stop politicians from hijacking the apex maritime body.
The firm, Akin Omorodion and Co. in the report, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently working on, said the bulk of the contracts were awarded by the agency’s governing board chaired by Senator Baba Tella, a governorship aspirant in Bauchi State.
It claimed that the contracts were awarded even when the value was beyond the board’s approval threshold.
According to the report, N2.2 billion worth of contracts was awarded by the board in violation of “the extant rules and regulation guiding the award of contracts as stated on the Federal Government of Nigeria Financial regulation and the threshold prescribed by the Bureau for Public Procurement.”
It said N236 million and $1.8 million of the contract was awarded by Director General, NIMASA, Temisan Omatseye, who was recently invited for questioning by the EFCC.
Although, it was unable to assess documents relating to the payment and award for the contract at the agency, the firm observed that many of the contracts were split and that they were awarded to the same contractor.
But officials of the agency, who spoke with The Guardian on the ground of anonymity, said the ministerial audit firm failed to do a thorough job.
According to them, none of the officials of the firm deemed it necessary to visit NIMASA, during the period of their investigation to verify facts.
The officials said the firm sat in Abuja and worked on the summary and submission of contract sent to the ministry on request.
They said the submission did not contain details of the contract hence in many cases it was misinterpreted by the audit firm.
The officials denied the allegation of split contract, stating that the contracts were on the supply of different office equipment, which the auditors misinterpreted them as the same type of equipment.
They said the $1.8 million contract component contained in the report was on the salvage of vessels swept ashore in Lagos last year.
The salvage contract, they said went through the ministerial tenders board, contrary to allegation and the audit report that it was unilaterally awarded by the agency helmsman.
They also debunked other allegations made in the report, saying all the contracts awarded went through due process as stipulated by law.
Akeregha said: “In the last seven years, the CLO has kept abreast of developments in Nigeria’s maritime sector, which, apart from the oil and gas industry, has the potential of sustaining the nations’ economy if well managed and coordinated.
“The CLO is unimpressed with the unrelenting politicisation and destabilisation of NIMASA, which has led to a major distraction from performing its statutory role as a regulatory agency in the maritime sector.
“In the last seven years, the agency has witnessed the highest turnover of its chief executive, resulting in the appointment of seven chief executive officers within a period of nine years. This has led to policy inconsistency and ridiculing of Nigeria at the international arena as an unserious country to do business with.”
Source:ngrguardiannews.com
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