THE NIMASA, ITC-ILO MoU

For the umpteenth time and in line with steps taken by  former Directors Generals, the present Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA Dr. Dayo Mobereola has signed, on behalf of Nigerians, a memorandum of understanding, MoU, with the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO) in Turin, Italy, to train staffs of NIMASA and other Maritime professionals on modern shipping demands/services.

Dr. Mobereola enters into this MoU believing that investment in human capacity development remains central to the NIMASA’s vision of creating a robust maritime industry capable of meeting  emerging global needs in seafaring, safety and security demands amongst others.

Maritime Nigeria gathered that the ITC-ILO MoU signed in Turin, Italy, is aimed at developing NIMASA’s institutional capacity through targeted technical assistance, training, and capacity-building for NIMASA staff as well as  relevant stakeholders in  Nigeria’s maritime industry.

Represented at the signing ceremony by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mr. Chudi Offodile, Dr. Mobereola said the partnership with the ITC-ILO aligns with NIMASA’s national objective of structured capacity building programmes for maritime professionals in Nigeria.

“This partnership responds  to  our national objectives and further reinforces NIMASA’s commitment to structured and targeted capacity development, while leveraging the ITC-ILOs expertise and global pedigree to strengthen the training of maritime labour inspectors, policymakers, and trainers in the interpretation and implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended” Mobereola said

 

The NIMASA DG insists that  this MoU is critical  to Nigeria’s maritime industry development.

According to him “We remain committed to ensuring that the knowledge, systems, and partnerships developed through this engagement translates into measurable improvements in maritime labour administration and supports a sector that is globally respected, professionally driven, safe, and firmly anchored on the principles of decent work”

The Director of the ITC-ILO, Mr. Christopher Perrin expressed appreciation for the partnership with Nigeria.

Perrin assures that the Centre would deploy its faculty and resources to support the country’s (Nigeria) quest for sustainable human capacity development.

 

NIMASA disclosed that the MoU is the outcome of several long time, intense interactions and strategic meetings between the two organisations with the Executive Director Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services NIMASA, Mr Jibril Abba and Head of Training at ITC-ILO, Giuseppe Zefola as focal persons while the Regional Adviser/Technical Expert at ILO, Dr. Amos Kuje provided valuable guidance.

 

Clearly, national resources and efforts have been committed to the ITC-ILO MoU.

Unlike previous MoUs, which have not yielded, this must not end up in cabinets and drawers with only pictures to show.

Nigerians demand that actionable steps be taken to actualize and account for the commitments by Nigeria to this ITC-ILO MoU even as we look forward to seeing tangible results as outcomes of the Nigeria/ITC-ILO partnership.