Creating more agencies in transport sector’ll clash roles, weaken service—NIMASA
The Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside has picked holes on brewing plans to create additional agencies in the nation’s transportation industry.
Speaking at the 2018 Half Year Maritime Forecast Review in Lagos, he argued that the best option would be to strengthen existing ones for optimum service delivery.
He cited ongoing criticism by ship owners who decry that it is only in Nigeria that you have too many agencies interfacing directly with vessels calling at the Nation’s ports.
According to him, NIMASA recently sealed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Armed Forces to avoid duplication of duties and support the Ease of Doing Business agenda of the Federal Government.
He listed other agencies collaborating with NIMASA to include the Nigerian Customs Service, Nigerian immigration service, the Nigerian Police, and even the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Dr Peterside affirmed that the current maritime regulatory agencies under the Ministry of Transportation have enough mandate to ensure safety and security in the sector. He added that the Nigerian Navy could not be allowed to board merchant vessels for regulatory activities according to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations, Merchant Shipping Act, and other regulatory instruments that are in line with global best practices.
According to him, “There is no way the Nigerian Navy can act as a regulator in the sector, and we have been working together especially in line with the MoU that exists between us to ensure security in the sector, which is in line with what the IMO stipulates”.
