The House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration has patted the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on the back on its budget performance.
It stated that the apex maritime regulatory agency has done creditably well, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Lynda Ikpeazu who stated this in Lagos during an oversight visit by members to NIMASA expressed confidence in the current management of NIMASA which has Dr. Bashir Jamoh as its Director-General,
According to her, Jamoh had laid down a clear roadmap for taking the agency to greater heights, and pledged the lower chamber’s support.
Her assertion is coming on the heels of the three-pronged agenda for maritime industry development which focused on maritime safety, maritime security and shipping development which Jamoh launched on assumption of duty as the helmsman of the agency following his appointment by President Mohammandu Buhari in March.
NIMASA Head, Corporate Communications, Philip Kyanet in a statement made available to Maritime Bits quoted Ikpeazu saying that by that agenda, Jamoh has laid a good foundation for the agency.
Giving reasons for the visit, she stated that the committee was in Maritime House, the corporate headquarters of NIMASA to monitor the activities of the agency for 2020 and see how it has performed so far and further legislative assistance that can be brought to bear in order to generate more revenue for the government.
Her words: “The Director General of NIMASA is doing his best to ensure that he repositions the agency to make sure the agency delivers on its core mandates. We will make sure we give the Director General all the necessary support he needs because we have seen him moving towards the right direction and most especially, he has made it clear to us that he wants to address insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea. The issue of security goes a long way to affect revenue generation in the maritime sector.”
She also revealed that the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act Amendment Bill had gone through first reading in the lower chamber of the National Assembly just as he pointed out that the proposed amendment will reflect contemporary issues that would be beneficial to indigenous ship owners in the country.
“A more responsive Cabotage law will stimulate opportunities and policies for giving seafarers jobs and improve on shipbuilding capacity”, she said.
The NIMASA helmsman in his response thanked the committee for the cooperation and support it had accorded NIMASA.
According to him, under his watch, human capacity development in the maritime industry would continue to take pride of place.
“Human beings are the most important link in the maritime industry and at the same time, the weakest and most complicated in the industry. This administration will take the issue of training and capacity development of staff serious and we have gone further to maintain a close relationship with the maritime workers union to ensure that dockworkers are properly trained”, he added.
