Allegations of financial impropriety against the the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh have been described as baseless, spurious and a political vendetta against his intimidating credentials and soaring achievements.
\nSpeaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria (CCSON) dismissed the allegations as baseless and sponsored by political enemies who could not in anyway match Dr. Jamoh’s administrative ingenuity and wizardry at the agency or anywhere.
\nRecall that sponsored viral reports by some online news platforms make a series of allegations bordering on financial profligacy against the NIMASA boss.
\nThe National Secretary, CCSON, Comrade Dele Anifowoshe, who spoke on behalf of the coalition said there was no in-depth investigation before some media houses reported what they received as allegations from some persons they described as mischievous and unscrupulous elements.
\nAnifowoshe stated that the group, through its investigation, has discovered that the allegations against Dr. Jamoh were sponsored by some disgruntled elements whose dirty businesses have been taken away and are now fighting back by using some sections of the media to report unverified facts.
\n\u201cAs Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria, CCSON, we have deemed it fit to debunk claims against the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, over alleged financial infractions which are not true as they make Nigerians to believe a lie.
\n\u201cOur investigations revealed that the stories and reports put out there are all tissues of lies and baseless.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate, that some of these publications were hurriedly put together and some news media ran with them without doing due diligence through investigation to verify and balance their reportage.
\n\u201cWe want to make it clear that these allegations have never been verified and authenticated anywhere and anytime; rather they are deliberately cooked up by some unscrupulous elements who do not mean well for our country and peace, the coalition stressed.
\nThe CSOs therefore appealed to Nigerians to dismiss the report as cheap blackmail meant to discredit the good work of Dr Jamoh at NIMASA.
\n\u201cWe call on Nigerians to discard this cheap blackmail from persons who are out to defame the Director General of NIMASA who has positively transformed the agency and repositioned it for high productivity.\u201d
\nAccording to Anifowoshe, the NIMASA boss is a game changer and go-getter who has transformed the image of the agency and attracted local and international recognition and awards.
\n\u201cIndustry players have showered encomium on his sterling performance since he took over the helm of affairs of the agency.
\n\u201cToday, NIMASA is recognized for its performance by bringing the agency to be at par with its counterparts across the world based on its global best practices.
\n\u201cDr. Jamoh has stood out among those who were DGs of NIMASA by being gender sensitive and friendly, as the agency has 60 percent of directors as women under his leadership.
\n\u201cHe has been able, through his proactive and pragmatic steps, to make the Agency have strong synergy between other relevant agencies and established international collaboration against piracy and other maritime offences resulting in an all-time reduction in vessel and crew attacks.
\n\u201cWith his personal involvement and engagement with the NIMASA Board, Executive Management Team and all staff of the agency, they have all worked assiduously to contribute to the success stories the nation\u2019s foremost maritime administration has been associated with.
\n\u201cHe is currently on the move to ensure NIMASA scales up the performance of its statutory functions and activities to woo more investors, professionals and all stakeholders in the nation\u2019s maritime industry to boost the economy,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cNow we have to double our efforts.\u201d
\nThe coalition therefore charged the NIMASA DG to remain focused and not to be distracted by the antics of what it described as mischief makers.
\nThe group noted that the towering performance of Dr. Jamoh as the NIMASA DG has attracted both local and international recognition and accolades through awards.
\n\u201cMedia reports also have it that the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in its recent report had disclosed that piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which had in recent times become the global epicenter for sea piracy, fell to the lowest since Q2 2019 after Dr. Jamoh started enforcing the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project.
\n\u201cBased on the impact and achievements of the DG NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, since assumption of office, has won several awards including the 2020 Zik Prize in Public Policy.
\n\u201cAlso the prestigious media giant, Vanguard Media has given one of its highest awards to Dr. Jamoh as recognition and commendation of his radical transformation of NIMASA, which was the \u2018Public Sector Icon (Maritime) Award\u2019, and critical maritime stakeholders who witnessed the ceremony acknowledged the fact that the NIMASA DG has worked hard within a short period to justify the honour.
\n\u201cDue to his excellent performance in repositioning NIMASA, he was honoured with the prestigious award of \u2018Public Servant of the Year\u2019 in 2022 by Champion Newspapers.
\n\u201cAlso internationally, he has been applauded for his doggedness and determination to change the narrative after he hit the ground running as the DG NIMASA\u201d, they added.
\n\u201cWe once again state that the allegations against a core technocrat and goal-getter as Dr Jamoh are all lies from the lips of mischief-makers,\u201d the coalition declared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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