Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has ordered a
probe into the financial activities of the Maritime Academy of
Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State and N18 billion
remittances to the institution by the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in the last five
years.
Amaechi gave the order following allegations of
financial recklessness and large scale fraud leveled against
the academy’s rector, Joshua Okpo.
The academy's rector had recently approached Amaechi to
accuse NIMASA of starving the institute of Funds. Amaechi
immediately called for a meeting with the management of
NIMASA and enquired from them why it was sitting on the
subvention of MAN, Oron.
This claim was however refuted by NIMASA's acting DG,
Haruna Jauro who told Amaechi that the agency had
remitted over N18 billion to the academy since 2009
. At the
enquiry of the minister, the MAN rector, Okpo said he only
took over in 2011 to which NIMASA declared that a sum of
N13 billion was remitted to the institution since the rector
took over. When asked what he had done with the N13
billion remitted to the academy since he took over as Rector,
Okpo kept giving incoherent and inconsistent answers. This
made Amaechi to immediately call for a probe.
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