The House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration has escalated scrutiny over the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency's (NIMASA) 2026 budget proposal. Committee Chair Khadija Abba-Ibrahim directed NIMASA officials to present verifiable performance indicators, warning that budgets lacking transparency or measurable outcomes would face rejection. During the session, she noted that NIMASA's past budgets often lacked clear targets, leaving citizens with little insight into how funds were utilised.
Abba-Ibrahim also insisted on full disclosure of spending plans, emphasising that every naira must align with tangible service delivery. NIMASA's Director-General, Bashir Jamoh, responded by committing to tighter reporting standards, acknowledging the committee's push for accountability. The committee's move follows repeated concerns over NIMASA's budgetary opacity and slow progress in maritime safety initiatives.
The committee's demand for measurable outcomes from NIMASA's DG Jamoh exposes a long-standing culture of budgetary waste in Nigeria's maritime sector. If Jamoh fails to deliver, the 2026 budget risks another round of rejected allocations, leaving critical port infrastructure and safety programmes underfunded. Past budgets have already shown how weak oversight enables mismanagement, so this scrutiny may finally force NIMASA to either perform or face real consequences.
