By Godfrey Bivbere & Godwin Oritse

The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions has summoned the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport to appear before it over the committee set up to review appointments, placements and promotions carried out in Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, between 2008 to 2015.

SENATE CHAMBER

The summon, Vanguard learned, was as a result of a petition to the Senate Committee and copied to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Ministry of Transport, challenging the constitution of the committee by the ministry alleging that the exercise was meant to demote professionals who were engaged during the administration of Patrick Akpobolokemi.

The Senator Samuel Anyanwu-led committee was said to have invited the Permanent Secretary over the petition sent to the ministry with the name of Senator Sulaiman Nazif on it because the senator allegedly has a younger brother in NIMASA who is likely to be affected by the outcome of the probe.

A source in the ministry accused the committee of working against the implementation of the recommendations of the committee.

Interestingly, with the wave of petitions and counter petitions, the senator’s brother, who is an Assistant Director in charge of Search and Rescue in NIMASA, also wrote a petition to the Ministry of Transport, challenging the authority of the ministry to set up a committee to review appointments in NIMASA amongst other issues.

It was gathered that the committee set up by the ministry has since concluded its assignment and submitted a report containing its recommendations to the ministry over four weeks ago but the report is yet to be implemented or even made public .