Harboursandport.com: Lagos - The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called for greater maritime input for Nigeria’s attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.
Sanwo-Olu said the country must put in place deliberate
measures for the optimal utilisation of its enormous maritime potential.
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From Left, Chairman Governing Board of the Nigerian
Ports Authority, Chief Akinwunmi Ricketts, Director General of NIMASA, Dr.
Bashir Jamoh and the Chairman Governing Board of NIMASA, Hon. Asita O. Asita
during the 2020 World Maritime Day celebration in Lagos.
The governor said this in Lagos on Thursday on the occasion of the 2020 World Maritime Day, with the theme, “Sustainable Shipping For Sustainable Planet.”
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Dr.
Obafemi Hamzat, commended the Federal Government for its plan to move
containers across the country with barges, stressing that it would bring about
more efficiency and ease pressure on the roads.
According to the Governor, “The theme of this year’s World Maritime Day,
Sustainable Shipping For a Sustainable Planet, is apt and timely when we need
to pay rapt attention to making our shipping process more environmentally
friendly.
It is
also coming at a time when we need to support the maritime industry to
contribute its quota to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of
eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development by 2030.”
He added, “We need to optimise the potential of
the maritime industry by utilising our waterways to transport goods and
services from one destination to another locally. In respect of this, I must
commend the Federal Government for the plan to begin transportation of
containers from Lagos to Onitsha through barges and subsequently, to other
parts of the country.”
In his keynote address, the Minister of Transportation,
Chibuike Amaechi, acknowledged the security challenge in the country’s waters
and called for synergy among stakeholders in tackling the problem.
Amaechi, who joined the event virtually from Abuja,
identified the secure anchorage issue as one that required greater
understanding and transparency on the part of stakeholders.
In her own remarks, the Chairman, House of
Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Lynda
Ikpeazu, commended the recent collaboration between the Nigeria Navy, Nigeria
Police, and NIMASA in addressing maritime insecurity in the country.
Ikpeazu pledged the National Assembly’s support for the
Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, in his effort to galvanise the
capacities of stakeholders towards maritime safety, security, and shipping
development.
In her welcome address, the Minister of State for
Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, said the event provided an opportunity
for the country to focus attention on the crucial role of the maritime industry
in the attainment of the SDGs. Saraki said the maritime sector was replete with
both opportunities and challenges, noting that the country must find
sustainable ways of profitable utilisation of its huge maritime resources.
Speaking also at the occasion, Dr. Jamoh restated the
Federal government’s commitment to the security of the country’s marine
environment through the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection
Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project. He said over 85 per cent
of the assets needed for the project’s full takeoff had arrived the country,
stressing that the training process for officers that would man the various
equipment is being concluded.
According to him, “The determination of the Agency to ensure
sustainable use of the seas and oceans is clearly demonstrated by our
establishment in 2008 of a specialised department in charge of marine
environment management. With the current collaboration between NIMASA, Nigerian
Navy, Nigeria Police, and other security agencies, I am convinced that the
future of maritime security in the country is very bright.”
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