The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has indentified insecurity as a major challenge for operators to fully exploit the enormous benefits available in the maritime sector in Nigeria.
The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who said this in Calabar, Cross River State, Tuesday, during a stakeholders’ interactive forum, with the theme: “Harnessing Maritime Potentials in an Untapped Environment: Opportunities, Threats and Role of Government,” noted that the agency is collaborating with stakeholders in the sector to combat sea robbery, piracy, kidnappings and other illegalities prevalent in the Nigerian water channel to make it safe for maritime activities to take place.
He said: “So many benefits are untapped in the Nigerian maritime sector and NIMASA is opening up such areas but we are faced with insecurity, which we are addressing by partnering related agencies to eliminate and we are making progress in that direction.”
In a presentation, the lead speaker on the occasion, Mrs. Mfon Usoro, observed that closer collaboration between government and private sector, especially the academia was key for the growth of the agency, noting that transport logistics in the sector would enable it “occupy a very significant role in the economic development of Nigeria.”