Story by Dili Utomi.
It was a packed hall at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Monday morning as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) held an open interactive session with Maritime journalists to try and thrash out certain issues that may have created difficult hurdles for the growth of the Maritime sector of the Nigerian economy.
On the spot were Dr. Dayo Mobereola, the Director-General of NIMASA, Chidi Ofordile, Executive Director Finance, Fatai Taye Adeyemi, Executive Director Operations and Jibril Abba, Executive Director Maritime Labour Cabotage Services.
The DG NIMASA opened the floor of the session with a thank you remark for the journalists presence at the occasion noting that NIMASA and the maritime journalists are partners in progress.
Lead maritime journalists such as Hope Orivri, Timothy Okorocha, Eugene Agha, Asu Beks, Dr. Ovie Edomi, Eddie Iroha, Funsho Olojo, Ismail Aniemu and Ezinne Chinwe Azunna opened the floodgates of questions that ranged from Regulation to Trainings, the Cabotage Vehicle Finance Fund, Maritime Diplomacy, Relationships with the litoral states and lots more.
The NIMASA DG spoke about the issue of vessels used for illegal activities on our waters and said that he is working on making sure that every vessel used within the Nigeria territorial waters are properly registered so that the issue of vessels used for illegal activities can easily be identified.
On the question about misconceptions about the overlapping functions of the three major government agencies, NIMASA, NPA and the NSC, Dr. Mobereola said that the journalists are in a better position to clarify the grey areas as anyone speaking on the side of the agencies would be seen as defending his or her turf, but he added that the regulations setting up all the agencies are clear about their functions.
On the recurring matter of the unused floating modular dock, Dr. Mobereola said that he and his team went to look at it the previous week and that modalities are being put in place for it to start functioning in order to create employment and generate the needed revenue for the country.
He aslo delved into the matter of the Cabotage Vehicle Finance Fund (CVFF) disbursement and noted that about twenty years ago when the fund was last disbursed that the fund was disbursed to the wrong people, there was no benefit to the nation and there was no benefit to the ship owners who contributed it. He added that “In this case, we are looking for opportunities that when we eventually disburse the funds, it will not be a start and stop, but will be a process that will continually develop the sector bearing in mind that decisions taken twenty years ago may no longer be relevant now locally and internationally”.
Dr. Mobereola affirms that “The CVFF is not about the vessels acquisition alone, but the demand also, what are they going to carry? We are looking at the cargo before the vessels so that they will not be lying fallow, but making revenue as soon as they are purchased”.
On the matter concerning the training of seafarers, the NIMASA DG said that water tight modalities are being put in place that which ever country the Nigerian seafarers are sent to for training that they are given the best so that the country can also tap into the income earned by the seafarers. He gave example of Philipino and Indian seafarers who repatriate over $26 billion annually to their countries.
The DG also added the the NIMASA act of 2017 is being reviewed to adapt to the most recent times. He spoke about the complaints about the seeming lack of cooperation on the part of some of his staff as it concerns the release of data for research purposes noting that “You can be sure that we will always make data available to you Journalists”. He noted that the issue of data availability is crucial as one can easily tap on one’s computer for example to get information about Namibia having 33% of its gross domestic product (GDP) from the blue economy and Vietnam having 65% of its GDP from the blue economy.
A question was raised about NIMASA being selective in its dealing with the litoral states of the country, but Dr. Mobereola answered that he is still relatively new on the job and that he intends to engage all the coastal states as they are equally important as far as the activities of the agency is concerned.
On the small matter of transparency in recruitment and award of contract, the NIMASA DG answered that some processes may not have been solidified, but that he has only been on the saddle for four months and needs time to understand certain things, then plan, itemise what is needed before taking decisions.
The issue of the war risk insurance also came up and Dr. Mobereola said that that formed part of what was discussed at the Chatham House a few days ago. He noted that “Nigeria has not had any case of piracy for the past three years, yet the war risk premium imposed on ships coming into Nigeria persists due to the influence of a cartel within the international insurance sector and making shipping business so Nigeria rather expensive”, he affirms that “The matter shall be tabled with the United Nations”.
He also spoke about whether Nigeria should have a national carrier like before and concluded that that is not a route to go. He clarified that NIMASA is also doing what it can to bring the operations within the maritime sector to the international standard so that all certifications and protocols required may be domesticated.
He harped aslo on modalities that are being put in place to make sure that journalists are trained and that more cooperative procedures are encouraged leading to the desired symbiotic relationship between the NIMASA and maritime journalists.
For advertisement and more information, please contact us on 08027590195, 08035721540 or email us at [email protected] or send us messages on x @dn_utomi or on Instagram @utomidili.
