By Damilare Adeleye
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has summoned the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Safety and Administration Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola, to appear before the Committee.
The committee issued the summons in a statement on Saturday, warning the Director-General to appear on July 17, 2024, or face arrest.
The Committee, chaired by Michael Irom Etaba has been investigating a petition submitted by Abade-Toru Manga Community Development Initiative on December 4, 2023.
According to the statement, the petition alleges that NIMASA failed to establish educational and skills acquisition projects in the coastal communities as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
“The group in their petition maintained that NIMASA had expressed commitment in line with the recommendations at the Global Maritime Security Conference 2019 to introduce educational, entrepreneurship training, and skills acquisition programmes in the areas of fishing, clearing and forwarding, and legal bunkering, for people in the coastal communities.
“Rather than living up to this commitment, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who then held sway at NIMASA as the Director-General, decided to build a Maritime Skill Acquisition Centre and Twin Lecture Theatre in Kaduna State, where he hails from.
“The Committee has summoned Dr. Dayo Mobereola to appear in person, to explain why NIMASA failed to replicate the skills acquisition centers in the five States where it operates (Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers). If he fails to appear, the Committee will direct the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest and bring him before the Committee.
“The Committee is exercising its investigative powers under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). It believes that governance is a continuum, and whatever Dr. Jamoh omitted to do for the coastal communities during his tenure can be done by Dr. Dayo Mobereola, who is now the Director-General of NIMASA.
“The hearing continues on July 17, 2024, and the Committee expects Dr. Dayo Mobereola’s full cooperation,” the statement added.