The House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration has launched a stern rebuke at the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), accusing it of breaching its legal mandate through extra-budgetary expenditure and failing to remit sufficient internally generated revenue (IGR) to the federal government.
During its 2025 budget defense and 2024 review in Abuja, chaired by Hon. Khadijah Ibrahim, the committee flagged a glaring issue: of the roughly ₦370 billion NIMASA generated in 2024, the agency retained nearly all of it—well above the legally required 50% remittance into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
“Well, that’s clearly against the law,” the committee insisted, pledging intensified oversight with frequent inspections of NIMASA’s headquarters and regional offices.
Despite these concerns, the committee approved NIMASA’s proposed 2025 budget of ₦774.6 billion for recurrent, overhead, and capital expenditures. The agency projected ₦467.4 billion in gross revenue for the year and has already received ₦467.4 billion in budget allocations—equivalent to 103% of its 2024 target.
Deputy Chair Hon. Alphonsus Ududoh pressed NIMASA over the delayed release of ₦200 billion earmarked for key projects at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria in Oron, raising concerns about stalled development.
Additional issues emerged from representatives such as Hon. Billy Osawaru (Edo, APC), Hon. Ukpnoggido Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom, APC), and Hon. Rodney Ambaiowei (Bayelsa, PDP), who called out inflated contract values and demanded closer supervision of flagged projects.
NIMASA’s Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Chudi Offordile, clarified that the ₦467.4 billion released in 2024 represented 103% of the agency’s appropriated budget, countering the committee’s skepticism on internal fund management.
Despite the heavy scrutiny, the committee endorsed the ₦774.6 billion proposal, but not without strong admonitions: NIMASA must halt extra-budgetary spending, remit 50% of IGR as required, release allocated academy funds promptly, and justify all contract expenditures through improved transparency and accountability.
This session marks a critical accountability moment for NIMASA as lawmakers aim to enforce stricter fiscal discipline within the agency.
