FG may scrap NIMASA — Amaechi

In the light of the rot in the maritime sector, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has blasted the past administration of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and hinted that if the rot continues, government might be forced to scrap the agency. Amaechi gave the hint in Abuja yesterday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, headed by Senator Ahmed Sani, to brief the senate panel on the activities of the agencies under his supervision. “Currently, the way NIMASA is, if you look at it very well, it was worse in the last administration.

It was as if it was established just for the purpose of collecting money and nothing more. What we need to do is to ensure that NIMASA discharges its core responsibilities. “If NIMASA failed to perform its core responsibility then it has no business existing. If it is just to collect money from individuals, anybody can do that. We can hire a tax collector to collect money from maritime operators on behalf of Federal Ministry of transport. “So it is either NIMASA sit up and carry out its own responsibility or we come to the National Assembly to repeal the Act setting it up and allow the Department of Marine Security in the Ministry of Transportation discharged the responsibility currently being discharged by NIMASA,” he said.