The House of Representatives has placed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on full status enquiry.
This followed the non-submission of its audited accounts for years 2015 to 2018 to the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF).
The House Committee on Public Account took the action yesterday.
Also, the committee did not only place the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) on full status enquiry, but also summoned the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, over the unaudited accounts of the corporation.
This was part of the resolution of the House Committee headed by Oluwole Oke at the continued hearing of the “Deliberate and Reckless Refusal By Non-Treasury and Partially-Funded Agencies to render their audited accounts from 2014 to 2018”.
Julius Dung, who represented the Auditor General of the Federation at the session, confirmed the non-receipt of the accounts from both organisations.
Last week, the committee summoned the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemi Saraki, with the permanent secretary in the ministry, over continued shunning of the invitation of NIMASA Director-General Dakuku Peterside. Others were also invited.
Peterside was still absent at Tuesday’s session. But Gambo Ahmed, the agency’s Executive Director of Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, told the committee that Peterside was outside the country on an international assignment.
The committee rejected the excuse for his absence.
The committee rejected Saraki’s explanation for the non-submission of the audited accounts of the agency.
It expressed surprised when NIMASA claimed not to have a management account; hence, could not generate audited accounts for a number of years.
“We cannot submit an audited account from when we started. We must get the closing balance as at the last time we submitted the audit,” the Executive Director, Finance and Accounts, Bashir Jamiu, told the committee yesterday.
“Are you saying you don’t have a management account?” Oke queried.
“We don’t have,” he said.
The committee chairman asked if he was saying the agency did not have the balances to carry on with subsequent years.-The Nation
