The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dayo Mobereola, has tasked staff of the agency to consolidate recent achievements and adopt a stronger performance-driven approach to advance Nigeria’s maritime sector.
Mobereola gave the charge during a two-day Senior Management Strategy Session on the NIMASA Medium-Term Strategic Plan covering September 2025 to August 2028, held at the Nigeria Maritime Resource Development Centre, Apapa, Lagos.
The session provided an opportunity for senior management to review the agency’s progress, assess current challenges and develop strategies for achieving its objectives and statutory mandate.
The NIMASA boss highlighted several milestones recorded by the agency under the supervision of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, including four consecutive years without piracy incidents in Nigerian waters.
He also cited Nigeria’s election into Category C of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) after 14 years, as well as the lifting of the 12-year Condition of Entry imposed by the United States Coast Guard on vessels originating from Nigerian ports and destined for the United States.
According to Mobereola, the achievements represent significant progress for Nigeria’s maritime administration, but should not become a reason for the agency to slow down.
“sustaining and building on these gains requires a more disciplined, performance-driven approach, and the decisions we take here will not only shape our internal processes but also impact the broader trajectory of Nigeria’s maritime sector”.
He noted that the importance of maintaining the momentum was underscored by Nigeria’s growing relevance in the Gulf of Guinea, saying the country currently accounts for more than 47 per cent of all port calls in the region.
Mobereola therefore called on management staff to approach the strategy session with honesty, focus and a strong sense of responsibility.
He urged participants to be “sincere in discussing their current realities, focused in prioritizing the areas that truly move the needle and what we need to do to make progress in those areas as well as being accountable to ensure that every outcome from this session must translate into clear ownership, timelines, and measurable results.”
The Director General described the session as an opportunity for constructive engagement, where ideas could be examined and converted into practical strategies.
“This is a good place for constructive engagement where ideas can be challenged, refined, and transformed into actionable strategies. The strength of this Agency lies in our collective expertise, and we must leverage that fully”, he said.
He further commended staff for their contributions to what he described as “the most transformative chapter in the history of the Agency,” stressing that ongoing reforms were aimed at changing how NIMASA operates.
“we are not merely improving processes; we are building a new foundation for efficiency, transparency, innovation and international recognition,” he said.
Mobereola identified the automation of the Ship Registry, review of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW), disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), and automation of the agency’s workflow system as some of the reforms expected to have a lasting impact.
He said the initiatives would “fundamentally change the way we operate and how Nigeria is perceived globally”.
The Senior Management Strategy Session is held periodically by NIMASA to review the agency’s direction, reaffirm priorities and strengthen its commitment to delivering on its mandate and the ministerial deliverables for the marine and blue economy sector.