By Paul Effiong, Abuja
House of Representatives Committee on Navy has expressed serious dissatisfaction over the refusal to provide information on oversight and alleged acquisition of foreign platform without proper due process.
Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Navy, Honourable Yusuf Gagdi revealed this yesterday while addressing journalists after a closed door session with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla along with other officers at the Naval headquarters in Abuja.
According to the lawmaker, “they visited the Naval headquarters as part of their statutory constitutional responsibilities of oversight function adding that every House committee has the constitutional right to perform oversight function.
He said, “so we came to interact with the Navy, to ask questions on taxpayers’ money, how money appropriated to Navy is being spent,how intervention by the good president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is being judicially used by the Navy, how the junior officers and the senior officers are being treated by the senior officers of the Navy, including the famous case of Seaman Haruna, how he was suddenly dismissed.
“It is our responsibility on behalf of the Nigerian people to ask Navy questions on these pertinent issues. We have asked them.We are not happy.
According to the Committee;”We have said that we will go to all naval commands and bases to perform a deep-rooted oversight function to know how resources are being used and how disciplinary matters is being handled by the Nigerian people. So by the special grace of God, it’s not a new thing.
“And I have to tell you, without any fear of contradiction, the committee is not satisfied ok, specifically on the Seaman Abass issue”.
The lawmaker further lamented that his Committee had earlier written to the Navy to provide some needed information ahead of the visit which he said was unbecoming of the Nigerian Navy especially looking at the importance of the information to the Committee before they embark on the visit.
Gagdi, explained further “beyond that, on Seaman Abass issue, on non-response to letters written by this committee demanding for documents to be delivered, to guide us in our oversight function, and for acquiring foreign platform without the knowledge of the committee, and so many things.
“And we cannot say anything now until we go to see those projects that have been executed or platforms that have been built.Then we come back with you here and have another interface with them”.
Earlier in his address, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral, Emmanuel Ogalla informed that the Nigerian Navy is the most difficult arm on the operations of the Nigerian Armed Forces which Nigerians misunderstood especially on most of its operations.
He informed that, its areas of operations covers 290,000 Kilometers which he said is one tenth of the nation’s landmass.
Ogalla, noted that, the Navy perdorms policing functions in the maritime sector as well as compliment Customs, police and other paramilitary agencies operations which he said became more prominent in recent times due to the security, economic and other challenges facing the country.v
