The Director-General and Commandant of the Merchant Navy Corps, Allen Benson Edema, has alleged the leadership of the Nigerian Navy lied in the story of impersonation against him.
Edema who was reacting to the news item aired by the Nigeria Television Authority(NTA),on Tuesday, July 28, that his organization was involved in impersonation of the Navy, stated through a press release dated July 29, that the allegation was baseless and unfounded.
According to the release, “in all indications, after carefully findings and consultations, I hereby urge Nigerians to disregard that of the announcement in NTA, on Tuesday the 28th of July, 2015, at 7, 9, and 11 pm news, it is an act of mischievous allegation against the Federal GOvernment”.
He added that Nigerian Navy should make bold to tell Nigerians the year the Merchant Navy was created and when the Nigerian was established.
“On the issue of impersonating the Nigeria Navy (NN), the Nigerian Navy should make bold to make known to Nigerians, the year the Nigerian Merchant Navy was created and established and the type of sea kits uniforms the Nigerian Merchant Navy has been using since February 1914, till date and the year Nigeria Navy Service was created and the body they were caved out from in 1957, they should make it well known to Nigerians”
He vowed that his organization will not stop in the fight it has been waging against illegal oil bunkering in the country . “we will continue to apply possible means and more effort to identify and fetch out all those behind lifting of illegal crude oil and their co- conspirators”, he said, adding that “the NationalHuman Right Commission will exercise its power to bring the following names: Navy Rear Admiral J. O .Aikhomu, Navy Commodore T. T. Dankwat, Navy Lieutenant Commodore Agaba Ichukwu, Navy Commodore George Ezemako, to justice”.
He said that the Nigerian Merchant Navy was registered as Coast Guard Wariness for Maritime Security and Safety initiative and approved by the Corporate Affairs Commission. He added that the slow down of its operations was as a result of the action of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA),to engage a private security company to take over its functions.
Edema also asserted that the declaration that the Nigerian Merchant Navy Maritime and Security and safety Corps is illegal, is not the declaration of the Federal GOvernment nor the Court. “This came as a result of the collaboration with the Nigeria Navy, that involved the issuing of illegal clearance to vessels of not less than 4 to 5 150,000 and 200,000 metric tons of ship entry into Nigerian water to load crude oil every day”.
