The decision by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency’s (NIMASA) to set aside a whopping sum of N9 billion for foreign training tickets in the 2025 budget has again raised doubt about the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s pledge to sure cost-effective governance.

The huge sum is over ₦1 billion more than the what was budgeted in 2024.

The agency allegedly earmarked an extravagant spending totaling over ₦30 billion between 2024 and 2025.

A close examination of NIMASA’s expenditure in 2024 and its budget proposals for 2025, as sighted by Pointblanknews, paints a disturbing picture of potential large-scale corruption. Beyond the astronomical foreign training budget, the agency’s financial records reveal billions allegedly proposed for phoney local and international travel expenses, inexplicable training budgets for various categories including “Retiring Staff,” duplicated maintenance costs, and lavish accommodation.

These figures suggest a brazen disregard for prudent financial management and a possible systematic looting at a time the government is relying on borrowings to fund its budget.

In the 2025 budget, the current administration is expected to spend as much as N16 trillion on debt servicing alone.

Under the leadership of Director-General Dr. Dayo Mobereola, who assumed office in March 2024, NIMASA whose mandate is the regulation of Nigeria’s maritime sector, appears to be indulging in an orgy of questionable expenditures that starkly contrasts with the economic realities faced by millions.

A look into NIMASA’s financial records reveals a litany of line items that suggest a brazen disregard for public good with billions of naira allegedly allocated to frivolous activities while citizens struggle to afford basic necessities.

The sheer scale of the proposed ₦9 billion for foreign training tickets in 2025, dwarfing numerous other significant expenditures, epitomizes the alleged financial indiscipline and raises serious concerns about accountability and the ethical compass of the agency’s leadership.

The breakdown of some of the most appalling expenditures and budget proposals paints a grim picture:
Soaring Travel Costs: A combined “₦1.29 billion” spent in 2024 and a proposed “₦1.81 billion” for 2025 on Local Travel (Staff & Executive Management) alone is deemed “absurd and indicative of systemic fraud.”

Questionable Training Expenditures: Billions allocated across various training categories, including “₦777.5 million” spent in 2024 and a proposed “₦1.08 billion” for local training logistics, and an astounding proposed ₦9 billion for Foreign Training Tickets in 2025, up from over ₦1 billion in 2024. Even training for “Retiring Staff” gulped down ₦182.8 million in 2024 with a proposed “₦255.9 million” for 2025.

Lavish Accommodation: ₦2.4 billion spent and proposed for Hotel Accommodation across both years, suggesting a “deeply embedded culture of luxury abuse.”

Unaccountable Board Expenses: Over ₦2 billion spent and proposed for vague “Board/Committee Expenses” across 2024 and 2025.
Duplicated and Inflated Maintenance: Billions allocated to “maintenance of HQ, Annex, and Zonal Office Buildings” and a suspicious “maintenance of London Office” with fluctuating figures.

Exorbitant Operational Costs: Including a staggering ₦4.52 billion spent on “fuelling of generators” in 2024 and a static ₦3.86 billion for “welfare packages,” raising serious questions about their legitimacy.

Dubious Projects and Schemes: Proposed billions for a “second NIMASA Towers Building” and a “Verification Inspection Exercise” with unclear justifications and outcomes.

Inflated Sundry Expenses: From “₦223.2 million” spent on “stationery” in 2024 to a proposed ₦1.2 billion for “Annual Replenishment of Store items” in 2025, and ₦1 billion spent on “cleaning of offices” in 2024, the details suggest gross overpricing and potential fraud.

The cumulative effect of these expenditures and budget proposals points to a disturbing trend of financial recklessness within NIMASA, seemingly under the watch of its new Director-General.

The stark contrast between the alleged opulence within NIMASA, highlighted by the staggering foreign training budget, and the widespread suffering across Nigeria underscores the urgent need for accountability.

Nigerians demand answers from Dr. Dayo Mobereola regarding these big figures. The funds allegedly squandered on these questionable items could have been channeled towards initiatives that directly impact the lives of struggling citizens, analysts say.

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu on Thursday, told a Federal High Court in Abuja that, Kanu’s broadcast led to the killing of a former Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, and others.

In a recorded session played before the trial Judge, Justice James Omotosho, the prosecution witness, an official of the Department of State Services (DSS), led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, alleged that Kanu’s broadcast in which he ordered followers to “deal with” anyone violating his sit-at-home directive directly preceded the murder of Gulak on May 30, 2021.

The witness, the second so far called by the prosecution said, he was part of the DSS’ team that investigated the complaint made against Kanu by the then Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and that, the defendant’s broadcast also led to the killing of a retired judge, Justice Stanley Nnaji and an intending military couple, Sergeant Audu Lucas, Private Glory Matthew.

The witness said Kanu, in one of his broadcasts, ordered his followers to enforce a sit-in at home in all South-Eastern states, and as a result, many people who went out of their houses on that day were killed.
He said investigation revealed that Sergeant Lucas and Private Matthew were not only killed by those who were enforcing Kanu’s sit-at-home order, but they were also beheaded.

The witness said investigation also revealed that before killing Gulak, those enforcing the sit at home directive by Kanu, blamed him (Gulak) for coming out on a day their leader asked people not to go out of their homes.
Kanu, however, denied responsibility for the violence, insisting that his movement is non-violent and that IPOB cannot be involved in any criminality.

He admitted operating a radio programme but denied that his broadcasts led to killings in Lagos during the End SARS protests, arguing that Lagos is not within the Biafran territory.

The prosecution’s witness, codenamed PWBBB, claimed that the video evidence linked Kanu to violent acts, including the burning of police stations and the beheading of officers in Lagos.

Kanu said he was not directly involved in the day-to-day running of both organisations (IPOB and ESN), which he said were managed by their states’ coordinators.
The defendant also said, in the video, that he made broadcasts in respect of the End SARS protest and other broadcasts on Radio Biafra.

Kanu, who said he facilitated the establishment of ESN, explained that the organisation was necessitated by the killings of the people of the South East and faulted the invasion of his house by armed soldiers, which he said accounted for why he left the country for fear of being killed.

He argued that the invasion was unnecessary and also faulted the manner he was arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria.

He said the protest in Lagos during the End SARS protest was outside the Biafran territory and that the destruction witnessed during the protest could not have been due to his broadcast.
Kanu said he does not have authority over his members, adding that if he had authority over them, he would not have subscribed to the referendum; he would have just pronounced Biafra into existence.

In the video, Kanu denied that IPOB is responsible for the violent attacks in some parts of the south east and the killings witnessed, adding that “IPOB is a peaceful movement. The IPOB is a non-violent movement.”

Defence counsel, Paul Erokoro, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the video, requesting time to consult further.
Following agreement by lawyers in the matter, Justice James Omotosho adjourned till May 14, 21 and 22, 2025 for further hearing.