The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has described as untrue the claim made by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) that the agency acquired three properties in England.
Falana had on Friday during an interview on a Channels Television programme, accused NIMASA of purchasing properties in the United Kingdom in order to accrue dollars.
“NIMASA has just bought three properties in England under this regime. For what? Just to take out dollars. Please, let us run this country in the interest of our people. We are not a poor country, but the government has managed it in such a way that poverty is in ascendency,” he had said.
Speaking on the floating of the naira, Falana said, “There’s no provision for floating the naira. It’s illegal. You say, ‘The value of the naira will be determined by market forces. That is not there in the law.
“I’ve had to sue the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Federal High Court because Section 16 of the Central Bank Act has imposed a duty on the Central Bank to fix and determine the rate of the naira vis-a-vis other currency.”
According to Falana, Section 20(1) of the CBN Act states that the official legal tender in Nigeria is solely the currency notes issued by the Central Bank, specifically the naira. He further explained that Section 20(5) of the Act deems it an offense, punishable by six months imprisonment, for anyone to use any other currency in Nigeria without the approval of the central bank.
Falana explained that unless government officials take steps to strengthen the naira and establish it as the sole legal tender in Nigeria, our progress will be limited.
However, in his reaction, the Assistant Director of Public Relations of the agency, Osagie Edward, in a statement on Friday, denied the claim.
He said, “Our attention has been drawn to the allegation by Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, levelled against the Management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, bordering on acquiring three properties in England under this regime.
“We wish to state that there is no truth in the allegations, as NIMASA did not acquire any property in England, as claimed by Femi Falana. Furthermore, the Agency has not acquired any property in any foreign country in over 30 years.
“While we respect the views of the learned silk on public matters, NIMASA demands that he takes responsibility and retract this false claim.
“We also use this medium to caution that he and other members of the public should verify their facts before going public with any information. The public is hereby advised to disregard the statement by Femi Falana SAN.”
