The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has called for stakeholders’ collective collaboration on security in the Maritime Sector.
Dr. Bashir Jamoh, the Director-General of NIMASA, made the call at a one-day Sensitisation workshop organised by the Agency, in collaboration with National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Port Harcourt.
Jamoh, who was represented by Mr Ceche Osango, the Director, Special Duties in Maritime and Safety, said the workshop was to create a platform for stakeholders in the maritime sector to interact and see how to support each other to provide solutions to security challenges faced in the industry.
According to the director, the collaboration will particularly help stakeholders in the maritime sector to provide safety and security in the industry.
“We believe that collaborating with all the stakeholders, weather military, paramilitary and community, will enhance our resources today and will come up with ideas which we can continuously support each other and be able to deliver the results with our common goal which is to provide security.
“We appreciate the fact that everybody has a role to play hence we are partnering with our sister agencies, NEMA, SEMA who are working with us to see that this kind of situation is taken care of,” he said.
He stated that piracy on the waterways was one of the challenges which Nigeria fell into at the Gulf of Guinea, saying that insecurity affected merchant shipping and needed collaboration and solutions to fight against the challenges.
Similarly, Mr Godwin Tepikor, the State Coordinator for NEMA in Rivers, represented by Mr Damian Egwu, one of the staff members in the state, stated that the call for collaboration is apt as insecurity is becoming a perennial challenge in the country.
Tepiko said that maritime sector in the country had faced insecurity as it grew over the years at the Gulf of Guinea, which had contributed to the economic sabotage.
He stated that this contributed to the downturn of GDP on oil production from 2 million to 1.2 million barrels due to insecurity.
He called on stakeholders in the state to join hands to fight insecurity, stating that the menace could not be handled by one singular agency or security outfit.
Also stakeholders present were representatives of Nigerian Airforce, Nigeria Police, Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Road Safety Corps and the Federal Fire Service.