Harboursandport.com: Lagos --- The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety
Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside has stated that security in the
Nigerian Maritime domain is a work in progress that requires the commitment of
all stakeholders to ensure optimum safety of all investments in the sector.
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| Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside |
Speaking to journalists in Lagos, Peterside stated that
the Agency is taking the lead on the issue of maritime safety in the entire
West and Central African sub-region noting that safety and security in the Gulf
of Guinea has a direct impact on the Nigerian economy.
A statement made available to Harboursandport and signed by head of Corporate
Communication, NIMASA, Isichei Osamgbi, noted that the NIMASA DG said there are a lot of factors that contributes
to the cost of products coming into the country through the seas, which makes
it very important to tackle insecurity in the waterways.
According to the DG “we must ensure the security of the Gulf of Guinea
because Nigeria is not isolated from whatever happens in the region
which may lead to negative economic impact, or increase in the cost of
insurance or war premium insurance and ultimately lead to high cost of goods
and services which will be borne by the consumer of the goods and services”.
While noting that 65% of cargo heading to the region ends up in Nigeria
Dr Peterside who is also the current chairman of the Association of African
Maritime Administrations, AAMA said that securing the nation’s territorial
waters is a work in progress that requires the commitment of all stakeholders
and neighboring countries, noting that the Management of NIMASA has recognized
this fact and is implementing international regulatory instruments in
collaboration with various countries in the region to checkmate criminal
activities.
In his words “no maritime crime
occurs within a jurisdiction alone. Very often the trend is that maritime crime
starts from one jurisdiction and ends in another. The only way we can tackle
maritime crime is all of us working together and there have been several
regional initiatives in that respect to tackle maritime crime. Apart from the
ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy, you have the Africa Integrated Maritime
Strategy, you have the Gulf of Guinea Commission dealing with the same thing
there are several sub-regional and regional initiatives to tackle maritime
insecurity so I see a lot of potentials in regional collaboration and
integration”
He said that on the home front the Agencies of the government especially
in the Transport sector has seen collaboration as the way to go and that this
has occasioned the renewal of the MoU between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy as
well as partnership with other sister parastals.
Dr. Peterside also noted that the Agency’s goal in the implementation of
the International Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) Code is 100%
implementation level stating that the Agency is still not resting on its
laurels after achieving over 90% implementation level within a short period of
being appointed the Designated Authority of the implementation of the code.
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