The Senate Public Accounts Committee has begun probe of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom State for alleged illegal diversion of N1.05 billion.

This is even as the Rector of the Academy, Mr Duja Effedua, urged the committee to intensify action on the probe, saying none of the staffers who allegedly knew about the diversion and withdrawal was ready to volunteer any information.

The Senator Mathew Urhoghide-led panel said the move was premised on two queries by the Office of Auditor-General of the Federation which reportedly exposed the unauthorised withdrawals in its 2018 audited report.

The document indicated that the N457 million released to the academy on December 13, 2012 was diverted, while N608 million was irregularly withdrawn without concrete reasons.

But the Rector, Mr Effedua, while appearing before the committee Friday last week, said the allegation against the Institution was grievous, and that none of the staffers was ready to talk to him on how the diversion and withdrawals were made.

Also Read: How To Bypass FG’s Twitter Ban Through VPN

He told the Senator Mathew Urhoghide-led committee that the alleged diversion and withdrawals were made before he assumed office.

“It is true, they won’t talk to me, they have written about 6,000 petitions against me, they want me dead, they are frustrating me, I need the help of the committee to carry out the Investigation.

“I came to kick start something I don’t have any information about, they will frustrate every effort to get to root of the matter. I want an Ad-hoc Committee to be set up and get to the root of the matter,” he said.

But  Senator Urhoghide gave the rector  three weeks to provide necessary document on the allegations raised in the Auditor General’s Report.

The rector thereafter told the committee that he was ready to cooperate  with them in order to get to the root of the mater.