Chairman, House Committee on the Nigerian Navy in the House of Representatives, Yusuf Gadgi, has commended facilities in the Western Naval Command and Naval Dockyard for being in good shape.

Mr Gadgi, representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency of Plateau State, said this on Friday during a visit of the committee to the Western Naval Command and Naval Dockyard, Lagos State.

Some of the units inspected under Western Naval Command included the  Naval Air Base, Ojo;  Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, Ojo; NN Special Boat Service (SBS) camp and the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Mr Gadgi said that the committee visited the naval formations to discharge its constitutional responsibility of oversight function to naval commands and formations across the federation.

The chairman said, “We interacted with some Nigerian Navy institutions particularly some bases as well as units under the Western Naval Command, These commands and formations were either funded by Appropriation Act of the National Assembly intervention by the Federal Government as well as support from other agencies such as the NNPC and the World Bank. Our visit is to inspect facilities and know what specifically the Navy is doing with taxpayers’ money and to ask questions where necessary as well as make commendations.’’

Mr Gadgi said that after inspecting some of the assets, the committee, as representative of the people, had mixed reactions.

He said, “We have seen where the Navy has done well, where standard of work has been done according to specification and have noticed that much has been achieved in spite of challenges. The navy needs more from the National Assembly and the government of Nigeria to discharge their functions effectively. We have equally seen errors in one way or the other and we have asked questions and sought clarity.’’

The chairman praised the quality of projects executed by the Nigerian Navy as top notch because the projects were always quite different from the standard of work done by other services.

“However, it is also another thing to say that the committee generally has been satisfied. It will be very wrong for us to use only Western Naval Command and Naval Dockyard alone to pass judgement, whether positive or negative, on the Nigerian Navy until we visit other commands. We will be visiting the Central Naval Command, Eastern Naval Command, Logistics Command among other naval units before we can give a general appraisal of their performance,” he said.

Mr Gadgi also said that he was impressed with the development and innovation he saw at the Naval Dockyard commending the management of the Dockyard for such a positive outcome.

He noted, “I superintendent over Naval Dockyard for the last six years and I can tell you that the status of Dockyard six years has changed dramatically for good. There is no single unit under the Dockyard that is not functional. Their chemical laboratory, electrical lab, mechanical lab and among others are functional. This means that the leadership is very responsible and if you have such responsible leadership in an institution, you don’t need to suffocate or frustrate such leadership but commend their efforts.’’

The chairman said that some of the facilities the Dockyard had now were because he personally ensured that they were provided for in the budget.

Mr Gadgi said that the committee would continue to support and encourage the Nigerian Navy to ensure that the good works and innovation continue in formations and units.

(NAN)