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| DG NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside |
The Chairman,
NSWBN who led other members of the Board on a courtesy visit to the Management
of the Agency, said he thought it necessary to clear the air and exonerate
NIMASA from the news making the rounds about the Agency abandoning seafarers;
rather he said the reverse is the case as the Agency has always ameliorated
their plights.
Accordingly, he
said, “For
the records, NIMASA has no obligation for detained seafarers; rather they have
been assisting us, especially in the area of their welfare”.
Speaking
further, he commended the Agency for taking the centre stage in the Nigerian
maritime sector by ensuring that Nigeria takes its rightful place in the comity
of maritime nations. He also called on other Stakeholders in the sector and
Nigerians as a whole to support the quest of President Muhammadu Buhari to
bring about a change to the sector, adding that it will in-turn affect the
growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
Otunba Folarin
who is also the Chairman of the Ports Consultative Council (PCC) also used the
opportunity to call for more support from the Agency regarding the activities
and well-being of the seafarers and pledged the unflinching support of the
Board to the Agency in order to ensure the mandates of the Agency are fully
realized.
On his part, the
Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside stated that the importance of
seaborne trade cannot be overemphasized as over 90 per cent of goods are
transported through the sea.
The DG who was
represented by the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services,
NIMASA, Mr. Gambo Ahmed also said that there will be no shipping activity
without the seafarers; hence they are the bedrock to realizing a robust
maritime sector.
“For us in NIMASA, we are determined to ensure
a better living condition for our seafarers as they are critical to the
actualizing of our mandates. The welfare of the seafarer determines a lot about
the growth of any economy and on our part as an Agency, we will continue to
ensure their well-being is topmost on priority”, the DG said.
He further
assured the delegation that the Agency will continue to partner with them,
noting that the overall goal is to realize a robust a virile economy.
It may be recalled that the Dr. Dakuku’s led Management has
continued to embrace collaboration as a means to achieving its mandates. NIMASA
is the government Agency whose responsibility as enshrined in its enabling act,
cuts across Maritime Labour activities, which directly concerns the well-being
of the seafarers amongst other responsibilities.
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