The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, has emphasized that the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, Oron, remains a vital component of what makes Nigeria a maritime nation.

In a telephone chat with us, the minister reiterated his passion and commitment to Maritime development and improved transport infrastructure across the length and breathe of Nigeria.

The minister was emphatic that the ongoing restructuring at MAN is intended to reposition the Academy for global maritime competiveness among maritime nations and to secure Nigeria’s place among the comity of maritime nations as the country vies for re-election into category C of the International Maritime Organization, IMO, Council seat.

Contrary to speculations that the ongoing restructuring is targeted at some persons, the minister stated that the federal government is committed to the welfare, security and happiness of all her citizens.

In the minister’s words “ Why  would a government of the people target anybody for any reason, of course, if you go against laid down rules and regulations relevant agencies would come for you but if not, no citizen should be worried. The Federal Government is too busy working at solving/resolving national issues to have time for individuals who are doing their work diligently”.

The minister said people should concentrate on their jobs, be productive and stop worrying over government’s actions because, according to the minister “the President Buhari led government will not do anything to hurt Nigerian citizens who are not criminals”

In a related development, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geofrey Onyema has called on all Heads of Foreign Missions to support the country’s quest as it seeks re-election into Category C of the IMO Council.

Speaking at the Cocktail Dinner in honour of Foreign Missions organized by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, Mr. Onyema said that as a key player in the global maritime industry, Nigeria has played active leadership roles in ensuring the development of the sector not only within the country but also in the entire West and Central African sub region.

Mr. Onyema assured the global maritime community on Nigeria’s readiness to ensure optimum performance through curbing piracy, preventing marine pollution, reinvigoration of its ports and capacity building.

In his words, “I wish to inform you that we have enacted proactive policies that conform to global best practices in the maritime sector. More specifically through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), we have domesticated a number of IMO maritime safety conventions with a view to ensuring maritime safety and security not only in our domain but in the entire West and Central African Sub region” he said.

In the same vein the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Honourable Rotimi Amaechi said that Nigeria has taken a great role in the African maritime sector, adding that the Regional Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (RMRCC) in Lagos, coordinates Search and Rescue (SAR) activities in Nigeria and the African sub region which comprises of, Togo, Benin Republic, Cameroun, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equitorial Guinea as well as Soa Tome and Principe.

He added that the Federal Government has approved the establishment of an Integrated National Surveillance and Waterways Infrastructure Protection which will ensure security in the Nigerian maritime domain.

To corroborate the Ministers’ stance, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside reiterated that Nigeria occupies a special position in the African Maritime sector based on the length of its coastline and the attendant volume of trade.

According to him “Nigeria has a coastline of over 850km, and 65% of the cargoes heading to Africa would end up in Nigeria. We are the first country in Africa to enact a Coastal and Inland Trade Law (Cabotage Law) and we are likely going to be the first to enact and anti-piracy bill and so we are committed to taking shipping to the next level”, he said.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Harry Purwento and his counterpart from Syria, Mohammed Abo Serriah, commended Nigeria’s achievements in recent times and pledged their support towards Nigeria’s election in to the council seat.  They said aside supporting Nigeria’s bid they would also canvass for votes for the country after seeing the strides being made by Nigeria in the entire African Maritime Sector.

Nigeria through NIMASA is seeking election into the Category C of the IMO council which is coming up later this year. Though Nigeria lost the seat in 2011, unprecedented improvements have been made in the past 2 years which puts Nigeria in a good stead to clinch a category C seat at the IMO Council.