New NIMASA Boss Parley Maritime Journalists To Make Sector More Effective, Profitable. Raheem Ibrahim
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA) parley Journalists covering the sector to make it more effective and profitable in the nation economy revenue.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola who led his team to have an interactive session with the maritime media on Monday discussed and profile solutions to problems militating again the development of the sector.
Fielding questions from the media gurus at the occasion, the 5months old DG reiterated the newly invigorated NIMASA’s commitment to avoid the mistakes of the defunct Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund (SASBF) in the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund(CVFF).
Revealing the agency plans not to fail in it’s duty, Dr Mobereola said that the nation’s maritime industry has undergone some changes since the earlier disbursements about two decades ago and requires adequate planning that takes about seventy percent of the time to achieve efficiency..
Mobereola said when disbursements begin, it will be sustained to achieve economic development through employment and business growth for investors in the blue economy.
According to him, the CVFF won’t be about vessels alone as the agency aims to ensure the availability of cargoes to sustain the continuous operations of the fund and avoid a repeat of the SASBF saga.
He disclosed that members of the NIMASA executive management recently visited the modular floating dock for which several proposals have been made on its management.
The DG also revealed that the agency is coming out with a detailed plan to guarantee job placement for maritime cadets and graduates.
Mobereola described the agency’s expansion of the blue economy concept with various state governments as an ongoing activity as the country under President Bola Tinubu is committed to economic diversification through the maritime industry.
He said Nigeria can achieve its desire to reduce its over dependence and expresses optimism that Nigeria can make more from blue economy like Namibia which has 33% of it’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the sector.
He however appealed to the media to give NIMASA full support in attaining it’s plans to make the nation Blue Economy drive one of the best in the world.
Dr Mobereola who declared his acceptance to constructive criticism and way forward also assured in giving out adequate information to the public through the media so as not to allow wrong perception.
