Senate Committee on Marine Transport Continues its Oversight Functions: Visits NIMASA installations.
Senate Committee on Marine Transport Continues its Oversight Functions: Visits NIMASA installations.
– WES Media Team
The Senate Committee on Marine Transport, under the Chairmanship of Distiguished Senator Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni, continued its oversight functions on agencies under its purview on Thursday, 11th October, 2023, with a visit to all facilities of the National Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in Lagos.
The Committee members were conducted round by the Director General of the agency, Dr Bashir Jamoh.
The first port of call of the committee was the new imposing multi storey headquarters of NIMASA at Victoria Island. Thereafter, the committee members and their support staff were transported, via the newly acquired passenger boats of the agency to Apapa, to hold a brief introductory meeting with the management of the agency at their old headquarters building. The meeting threw up issues of interest and challenges faced by the agency. After much interaction, the Chairman promised that the committee will support the agency to further excel.
Other facilities visited by the committee were; the Agency’s Skill Acquisition Centre, under construction in Apapa. The centre, conceived to provide employment for youths. According to the D.G. the facility will become operational in a few months.
The committee also visited the Agency’s newly constructed Search and Rescue base hospital, also in Apapa. The D.G. explained that the hospital is conceived to provide first class Medicare for its staff and serve as a revenue generator, by taking care of sick crew members of foreign vessels.
Finally, the D.G. led the committee members, again by boat, to the Agency’s Search and Rescue centre at Kirikiri, which, according to him, doubles as the Regional command system, servicing the interest of about nine West and Central African countries of the gulf of Guinea. He said the equipments at the centre can be deployed to monitor the activities of all vessels entering the Nigerian territorial waters. It equally has d history of such vessels’ entry into Nigeria in the past ten years.
After leaving Kirikiri, the committee arrived at Apapa by dusk and still proceeded to keep its appointment with the Nigeria Shippers Council at the Council’s (NSC) office in Apapa.
The committee met with Hon Emmanuel Jimeh led management, which sought the Committee’s support to amend its act, so as to be able to effectively perform its economic regulatory role in the Maritime industry. The committee left the N.S.C’s office after 8.00pm.
