NIMASA gives APC 72-hour ultimatum to withdraw allegation

Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has given 72 hours to the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) to retract their accusation over the alleged dirty campaigns of hate against the presidential candidate of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) by the agency.
The agency said it would use lawful means of seeking redress against the party, if it failed to apologise after the ultimatum.
Its Director General, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, said in Lagos on Sunday that some misguided elements and individuals had made some attempts to impugn the integrity of the agency and its management.
He noted that the vicious campaign was intended to cast aspersions on the activities and integrity of NIMASA as a responsible corporate entity of government.
Akpobolokemi declared: “The attempts consist of a trail of mischievous representations and blatant lies, orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to discredit the giant and monumental strides President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has achieved through NIMASA and other agencies in the maritime sector.
“In the process, important issues of state have been trivialised on the altar of political grandstanding at the expense of the unity of our dear country, Nigeria. It must be echoed for record purposes that NIMASA is not a political party.”
The Director General said that APC’s malicious attacks on the agency had become a deliberate orchestrated attempt to undermine and rubbish all performing and strategic institutions of the Federal Government.
Akpobolokemi added that the party had mounted relentless attack and vicious propaganda, all in the name of politics, to attack the Nigerian Army, Police, Directorate of State Security, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and NIMASA. “Prominent amongst the falsehood perpetrated by APC against NIMASA is the allegation that NIMASA contracted the country’s maritime security to a private firm they claim is owned by Tompolo,’ he said.
The agency boss denied that NIMASA neither entered into any such security contract with any private company nor with Mr Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo).
He said: “These unfortunate allegations have mutated over time culminating in their rather callous and condescending attempts to variously describe NIMASA as the President’s ATM, and now labelling us as the sponsors of hate campaigns against the APC Presidential candidate.
“For the avoidance of doubts, the NIMASA success story, which is globally celebrated today, is borne out of hard work, visionary leadership and team spirit which cannot be dampened, regardless of the orchestrated attempts to trivialise the giant strides of this administration.
“No amount of smear campaign by the APC or any other body for that matter will divert us from our committed course and vision of bequeathing a robust Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) to generations unborn.
Akpobolokemi said that the agency had entered into partnership with a competent Nigerian maritime company; Global West Vessels Specialist Limited (GWSVSL) to provide its platforms to patrol the coastline.
“With the involvement of Global West, the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement now boasts of various categories of boats, contrary to what obtained in the past,” he noted.
He explained: “The PPP project has also made it possible for the Agency to provide suitable platforms to the relevant security Agencies collaborating with us to fight piracy and other sundry security breaches in our waters. Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have been signed and are being implemented by the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Air Force and NIMASA.
“Contrary to widespread speculation, Global West did not buy warships for NIMASA, what we have our routine operational vessels with which the Nigerian Navy and the agency collectively have successfully carried out the agency’s mandate as well as tracked, interdicted and arrested vessels engaged in criminal activities in our waters.”