Expert Calls For Implementation Of Report On Mv Trainer

A maritime expert and analyst, Dr. Harold Olowookere has called on the Federal Government to implement the report of the ministerial committee that indicted former Executive Director Operations of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA), Mr. Oliver Ogbuagu, over what he termed the “shocking national embarrassment” of the MV Trainer saga.
In 1996, the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) sold one of its ships named MV River Mada. It was bought by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a Greek shipping company registered in Cyprus, for $550,000. The ship was renamed Axion li by its new owners (MSC) and in 1998, the National Maritime Authority (now Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency  NIMASA) repurchased the same ship for $4.5 million and renamed it MV Trainer.
"After this discovery was made that the nation has lost close to $3 million in this fraudulent recycling deal, a ministerial committee was set up in 1998 by the former Minister of Transport, Festus Porbeni to probe the scam, the committee not only indicted Ogbuagu but also recommended him for stiff disciplinary action. Why hasn't the report been implemented?" Olowookere asked.
"Colossal sum was also spent to purchase second-hand and sub-standard spare parts for the MV Trainer and all of this was captured by the committee which recommended him for dismissal. How can we claim to be fighting corruption and still allow very grievous issues like these to be swept under the carpet? Unless the Federal Government brings all those who perpetrated glaring acts of corruption like this to justice, there is going to be very little hope for the growth of the shipping sector", he added.     
"Even last year, the then Director Maritime Services of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Mallam Umar Baba Farouk disclosed that Ogbuagu was number one on the list of those slated for termination of their appointments by the ministry.
Olowookere said that the MV Trainer issue is one good case to test government's will and determination to truly battle corruption in the shipping sector and show its commitment to move the sector forward and bring it to reckoning among the comity of respected maritime nations.
Ogbuagu, who worked with the NNSL before it was run aground, later worked at African Ocean Line (AOL). He moved to the defunct National Maritime Authority after he was sacked by the management of AOL.