The Federal Ministry of Transport has constituted a committee to verify all projects currently being executed by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos by Hajia Lami Tumaka, the Head of Public Relations Department of NIMASA.
According to the statement, the committee members were drawn from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Federal Ministry of Works and the General Services Unit of NIMASA.
It said the committee was expected to carry out an evaluation of all projects currently being executed by NIMASA.
The statement said this is “with a view to ascertaining their percentage completion in relation to funds already released”.
The Acting Director-General of NIMASA, Haruna Jauro, said the evaluation had become necessary given the limited resources available to the agency, which required the prioritisation of projects execution.
Jauro said the verification was also meant to avoid a situation where projects were being abandoned.
He said: “We need to set our priorities right as far as project execution is concerned by strategically executing projects even in a phased manner.
“This is to avoid a situation where projects which should have been very beneficial to the development of the maritime industry are abandoned due to poor planning.”
Jauro lauded the wisdom of the Federal Ministry of Transport, including officers from the Federal Ministries of Transport and Works.
He said the development was to ensure experts were involved in the process with a view to providing a report which would reflect the correct state of the projects.
The News Agency of Nigeria learnt that the committee has two weeks to conclude its assignment and report to the ministry.
NAN also learnt that the committee is expected to visit the project sites of the Nigerian Maritime University, NIMASA Shipyard and Dockyard.
The committee would also visit NIMASA Science and Technical College and the permanent sites of the six Institutes of Maritime Studies in six Nigerian Universities among others.