By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration Monday endorsed the 2025 budget proposal of N774.77 billion for the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
The committee led by Hon. Khadija Abba-Ibrahim gave the nod at a budget defence session with the NIMASA management.
The adoption followed the presentation of a summary of the projected revenue and expenditure by the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola.
Represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Hon. Chidi Offodile, the DG disclosed that N774.66 billion was the targeted revenue for 2025.
He informed that after deductions, including federal remittances and maritime fund contributions, N264.96 billion would be available for operations.
He listed freight levies, offshore waste management, sea protection and ship registration as major revenue sources, alongside new gains expected from automation, the rollout of a modular floating dock and collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guards.
On the implementation of the 2024 budget, the executive director disclosed that while NIMASA projected N467.4 billion in revenue for 2024, actual collections amounted to N370 billion, indicating a 79% performance rate. Recurrent expenditures reached 87% of budgeted allocations, while capital spending stood at 51% implementation.
Earlier in her address, the chairman of the committee, Hon. Khadija Abba Ibrahim said they discovered that NIMASA’s internally generated revenue was no longer been remitted 100 per cent.
She drew the attention of the management to a major fiscal shift under the present administration, requiring NIMASA to remit 50% of its IGR to the federal treasury—”A significant departure from the previous policy that allowed the agency to retain all IGR”.
The committee, however, questioned the credibility of doubling the revenue target given the N97 billion shortfall in 2024.
It also raised the alarm on the steep rise in personnel costs, from N42 billion in 2024 to N73 billion in 2025, and queried whether this was due to mass recruitment or inflated benefits.
