By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos.
The Federal Government have commenced the process of having an anti piracy law in Nigeria that will specifically address legal issues relating to activities of pirates and sea robbers on the nation’s territorial waters.
Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Director General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),made the disclosure at an interactive session with journalists in Port Harcourt.
Peterside said the draft bill for the law is presently being worked on at the Federal Ministry of Justice before it goes to the National Assembly as an Executive Bill.
He added that when passed into law, Nigeria will be the first country in Africa to have such law on piracy.
NIMASA according to him is enhancing investor’s confidence in the maritime industry by promoting security and safety through improved surveillance to prevent maritime crimes.
On the planned visit to Nigeria by the United States Coast Guard to ascertain the country’s compliance with International Ships and Ports -facility Security (ISPS) Code, the DG said an Executive Director has taken charge of overseeing Nigeria’s readiness for the visit.
He expressed confidence that after the visit, Nigeria will be rated ninety percent compliant as the agency is giving increased attention to issues of maritime security.
Peterside gave an assurance that the much awaited Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) will be disbursed under his watch.
He said the agency is set to strengthen its Eastern and Central operations as the board has approved the construction of a befitting multi storey building in Port Harcourt to serve as Eastern Zonal head office and another in Warri for the Central Zone.
He also disclosed that the board approved the building of a Port Office in Onne which serves as a very sensitive area for shipping activities in the South South region.
This according to him will will bring the NIMASA administration closer to the people of the region for quicker and efficient service delivery.
He said the agency under his watch have achieved staff promotion by addressing backlog of staff who were stagnated on various ranks over the years while also attracting technical support for capacity building.
”For the very first time in over 20 years, more than 300 members of staff of NIMASA were promoted. Some have been stagnated for 10 years. We were able to go through the process with the support of our board to achieve this”
”We have attracted more technical training to NIMASA more than any other administration in recent times.In the last ten months, there is no month we are not sending people for one technical training or the other”
On sea time training for graduates of various maritime institutions, he said NIMASA have concluded arrangement for the first batch to be sponsored to expand their chances for job placement.
”If you hold a certificate from any maritime training institution anywhere in the world without the sea time training and requisite CoC(Certificate of Competency), such certificate becomes a worthless piece of document”
NIMASA,according to him is working to see that the 2900 youths sent to training in various parts of the world get the practical experience that will guarantee international standard employments and boost earnings for the country.
