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Tag: NIMASA

  • NIMASA’s DG hails Abe

    The Director-General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has lauded the leadership of the Senate for appointing Magnus Abe chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

    Peterside spoke with reporters in Port Harcourt at the weekend.

    He said: “The people of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District and indeed the state will now see what representation is all about. We all know what Senator Abe can do. He has been there before and his records are still unmatched. We, in the Rivers Southeast remain proud of him.”

    The NIMASA boss expressed delight that the appointment camebarely one month Abe was re-elected to represent Rivers Southeast in the National Assembly.

    He said: “I have always said that All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has men of character, integrity and sense of responsibility. Senator Abe is one man you can be sure to perform any task given to him to the best of his ability.”

    Peterside, the governorship candidate of APC in Rivers State during the 2015 election, condoled with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, on the death of his first wife, Ruth Dalung.

    He said Ruth died at a time her husband was on national duty and working with President Muhammadu Buhari to restore the glory and prosperity of Nigeria.

    The director-general of NIMASA prayed for the repose of the deceased’s soul, while calling on the sports minister to bear the irreparable loss with strength and perseverance required in losing a loved one.

  • EFCC to court: Dismiss ex-NIMASA DG’s no-case submission

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to dismiss a no-case submission made by former Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) acting Director-General, Calistus Obi.

    Obi was arraigned last April on eight –count charge of converting N378,810,000 from NIMASA.

    He was charged along with Dismass Alu Adoon, Grand Pact Limited and Global Sea Investment Limited.

    Justice Mojisola Olatoregun-Ishola on Monday reserved till February 21 ruling on the no-case submission.

    Defence counsel, Mr. Wale Akoni (SAN), urged the court to hold that the prosecution did not establish a prima facie case to secure the conviction.

    He said:” The test is what are the essential elements of each of the offence? The test of the evidence is in the ingredient of the offence,” he said.

    Counsel to the second accused, Mr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN), also urged the court to uphold the no case submission of his client and discharge him.

    He argued that the charges against his client were predicated mainly on conspiracy and conversion, adding that the prosecution has not established sufficient evidence in proving an agreement to commit the offence.

    EFCC’s prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, objected to the no-case submissions, and urged the court to call upon the accused to enter their defence.

     

  • NIMASA ready to increase GDP, says Peterside

    Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-GeneralDr. Dakuku Petersidehas said the agency was positioned to contribute substantially to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Peterside told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that if the potentials of the sector were optimised, they would lead to the growth of the economy.

    “We are looking at the entire gamut of mix that is necessary to unleash our potential in the industry.

    “All I can say is that going forward, maritime is positioned to contribute substantially to our GDP and by extension the growth of our economy,’’ he said.

    Peterside said many countries had optimised advantages of their maritime sub-sector to grow their GDP and it had yielded results and urged Nigeria to replicate same.

    “If you look at the economy of the Philippians, seafarers contribute more than 11 per cent to their GDP.

    “If you look at Bangladesh, it is called the graveyard of ships, in terms of ship breaking, ship recycling; that small sector in the maritime industry contributes substantially to their economy.

    ”Now, if you  look at India, again seafarers contribute substantially to the economy of India. If you look at Korea, ship building contributes to the economy of Korea.

    ”‘If you look at China, the officer cadre that boards vessel or that ply vessels, or that mounts vessels everywhere in the world, most of them are Chinese.

    ”If you look at Singapore, by simply being a trans-shipment hub, it is the mainstay of the economy of Singapore.

    “So, if you look at all these countries, they have optimised advantage of one sub-sector or the other in the maritime sector. Why can’t we replicate same in Nigeria?”

  • NIMASA promotes 76 management staff, others

    NIMASA promotes 76 management staff, others

    The Governing Board of the Nigerian Maritime  Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has approved the promotion of 76 management staff of the agency to their next grade levels.

    The promotions were approved at the 34th meeting of the board which held in Lagos from December 20 to 21 under the chairmanship of General Jonathan India Garba (rtd).

    Eight Deputy Directors were promoted to the level of Directors, 15 Assistant Directors were promoted to Deputy Directors, while 56 grade level 14 officers were promoted to their next grade of Assistant Directors.

    Those promoted to Directors include the agency’s spokesperson, Hajia Lami Tumaka, Head of Procurement Department, Mr. Sani Mohammed, Head of Financial Services Department, Mr. Olayemi Abbas, and his counterpart in Cabotage Department, Mr. Hassan el-Yakub.

    Others are the Coordinator of Western Zonal Operations, Hajia Aisha Jummai Musa, Head of Marine Environment Management Department, Mrs. Susan Asagwara, Head of Shipping Development Department, Mr. Akin Akinyosoye, and his counterpart in Legal Services, Mr. Suleman Abdulsalam.

    The promotion went through a rigorous process where independent consultants were engaged to carry out the exercise.

    Similarly, the Executive Management of the agency has also approved the promotion of a total number of 222 non-management staff between grade levels 4-14.

    Meanwhile, the Governing Board has enjoined the newly promoted staff to dedicate themselves to duty as the promotions will undoubtedly come with more responsibilities, adding that henceforth promotion exercises in the agency will be conducted as at when due.

  • NIMASA to partner NIMET on meteorological data

    The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is to work with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) on meteorological data with a view to ensuring safety of lives and sea.

    The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside said this when the Director General of NIMET, Dr. Anthony Anuforom and his management team visited NIMASA headquarters in Lagos.

    He said the Agency is interested in studying meteorological data for ships by way of giving them information, analyzing data, dissemination of information and in any other way that meteorological data could aid navigation for safety of lives and vessels on sea.

    According to him, “In pursuit of that mandate, we are ever ready to collaborate with anybody who can be of assistance to us. Without a doubt, by reason of the technical capacity you have in the study of weather analysis of meteorological data, you are definitely useful to us. It is in realization of that piece of fact that a relationship was initiated sometimes in 2008.

    “It is in the same realization that we set out to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between our Agencies in pursuit of common objectives of securing lives and assets at sea, in line with the provisions of SOLAS, particularly Chapter 5, which is an instrument of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)”, the DG said.

    While also appreciating the importance of climate observation and meteorological data to safety of lives at sea, the NIMASA boss reiterated the Agency’s commitment in ensuring safety and security of lives and assets on the sea, he added, “We are not signing the MoU for signing sake; there is a mutually beneficial relationship for NIMET, for NIMASA and for those who need our services, especially mariners. They need this meteorological data and weather information to assure them that their safety is guaranteed, that they are on course and that they are doing the right thing.”

    Earlier, the Director General of NIMET, Dr. Anuforom acknowledged the role of the maritime industry to economic development and expressed willingness to collaborate with NIMASA in its quest to ensure protection of lives and assets at sea.

    “We are so active and vibrant in aviation and we believe that we should be even more vibrant considering the contribution of the maritime sector to this economy. With the number of ships that come in, issues of safety and security are paramount,” the NIMET boss stated.

  • NIMASA to support Presidential Amnesty Programme

    NIMASA to support Presidential Amnesty Programme

    Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General Dr. Dakuku Peterside has assured that the agency will support the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to ensure proper rehabilitation and reintegration of the ex-agitators in the Niger Delta, towards achieving a safe and secure maritime industry and the economy.

    Peterside gave the assurance when the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd.), who doubles as the coordinator of PAP, and his team visited him.

    He stated that NIMASA and the amnesty programme were strategic partners in ensuring a lasting peace in the Niger Delta.

    The NIMASA boss noted that PAP and NIMASA were jointly in pursuit of maritime security within the Niger Delta belt, without which shipping activities would not thrive.

    Peterside stressed that the core mandate of both government bodies was to ensure that the young men and women, who were agitating, were rehabilitated into the society and reintegrated, as a way of ensuring relative security within the Niger Delta.

    He said: “You (PAP) are contributing to the growth of our economy by ensuring that there is peace in the Niger Delta. When there is peace in the Niger Delta, we will increase oil production, we will contribute more revenue to the purse and we can do more development efforts.

    “For us (NIMASA), working in maritime means that we will support the oil and gas industry, which is for now the mainstay of our economy. We have the capacity to diversify, but we need the resources from oil and gas to diversify into other areas. That is why we need peace in the Niger Delta. So, we truly have common mandate in many areas. I truly welcome the idea of a strategic partnership and collaborative efforts in many directions.”

    The director-general of NIMASA hinted that the agency would set up a special desk to look at the young men and women in the amnesty programme, with a view to creating opportunities for them in the maritime industry.

    Boroh called for collaborative efforts in the resettlement and reintegration of the ex-agitators in the Niger Delta, noting that it would foster the growth and development of the economy.

    The presidential adviser stated that a number of the ex-militants had gone through various courses relating to the maritime industry, while pleading with the NIMASA boss to assist in engaging them, so that they could reintegrate into the society.

  • N754 m theft: Ex NIMASA director accuses EFCC of forcing him to make statement

    A  former Director with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency  (NIMASA), Captain Ezekiel Bala Ahaba on Wednesday told a Lagos Highly Court sitting in Ikeja that he was deceived by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into making and signing a statement.
    He said the statement which the EFCC claimed he made was not given voluntarily by him.

    Ahaba’s claim was however denied by EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo.
    He insisted that the defendant voluntarily made his statement to the commission and promised to provide the court with proof that Agaba was not in any way forced to make statement.

    Agaba, who is standing trial alongside a former Director General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi and others for allegedly stealing over N754,740,680.00 million belonging to NIMASA spoke  during a trial within trial conducted before Justice Raliatu Adebiyi.

    The EFCC had arraigned Captain Agaba, Akpobolokemi, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Amechee Juan, Vincent Udoye, Captain Adegboyega Sahib Olopoenia, and a company, Gama Marine Nigeria Limited before the court presided by Justice Raliat Adebiyi.

    The defendants are facing a 13-count charge bordering on stealing.

    Led in evidence by his counsel, Edoka Onyeke before the court, Agaba claimed that one Orji Chukwuma, an operative of the EFCC who interrogated him deceived him to write the statement he gave to the agency.

    He told the court: “Chukwuma had a strategy of asking a question and before I write he asked me again what I intend to write and when I tell him he would refused and ask me to write it his own way.

    “I complained and asked my lawyer to be present to guide me but he told me that this has nothing to do with my lawyer. So I got so frustrated and decided to do it his way.

    “I am challenging this statement because I had never been in this kind of situation before. Though I am not a lawyer, but I knew from the way the whole thing went that I was being coerced and this was not right”.

    Captain Agaba who is the second defendant in the suit told the court that he was arrested on August 18, 2015 and released on the August 20, 2015 at about 9:20pm. said he did not voluntarily made any statement to EFCC.
    According to him, “I was told what to write even though they made me sign that I freely elected to write whatever had been written. I was even told that I was not the target so I should cooperate.

    “The interrogator used all sorts of tactics to make me cooperate in doing it their own way, including delay tactics”, he claimed.

  • Court picks December 13 for trial of NIMASA chief

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday fixed December 13 for the continuation of trial of a former acting Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Haruna Jauro, and several others facing a N304.1 million fraud charge.

    Jauro, who assumed leadership of the NIMASA in July 2015, was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 19-count charge, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    He is standing trial alongside Dauda Bawa and Thlumbau Enterprises Limited.

    They were arraigned on April 12 and had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The court later granted them bail in the sum of N5 million each, with two sureties each in like sum.

    The resumption of the trial fixed for Monday was stalled due to the absence of the judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun.

    No reason was given for her absence.

  • Lawmakers assure NIMASA of support

    The National Assembly has assured the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) of its cooperation in the areas of  legislative and budgetary support to grow the capacity of professionals in the maritime industry.

    The assurance was given by the leadership of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport and the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration  while on oversight visit to Romania to assess the condition of Nigerians students studying various maritime professions at the Maritime University, Constanta, Romania under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).

    According to a statement endorsed by Head, Corporate Communication Team at NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Ahmed Yerima, said the Committee will give full support to NIMASA for the implementation of the NSDP scheme because of its long term impact on the growth of the Nigerian maritime industry.

    Senator Yerima who noted that the scheme has the capacity to address unemployment and properly position the country in the global maritime industry also advised its beneficiaries to put in their best during the training in order to add value to their families, country and the global maritime industry.

    He advised the cadets not to expect maximum comfort at this time of training but rather give their best for the sake of their future.

  • NIMASA, Navy arrest 16 stowaways on U.S.-bound vessel

    Search and Rescue personnel of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in conjunction with the Nigerian Navy have apprehended 16 stowaways on a U.S.-bound vessel, “MV Colombia River’’.

    According to the Head, Corporate Communications Team of NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka, the arrest was carried out on Friday Nov. 4, 2016, at the Lagos Fairway Bouy.

    She said the arrest was sequel to a distress signal sent to the Regional Search and Rescue Coordination Centre based in NIMASA,

    Tumaka said the centre, in turn, alerted the Nigerian Navy.

    “The Navy immediately sent its vessel `NNS Karaduwa’ to the location of `MV Colombia River’ where 16 stowaways were apprehended and one of them sustained an injury on the shoulder while attempting to escape arrest.

    “The injured stowaway was immediately taken away by the NIMASA Search and Rescue team on its vessel `NIMASA Benue’ to the agency’s Search and Rescue Base Clinic for treatment.

    “The others were taken away by the Navy for profiling and subsequent hand over to the security agencies for further investigation,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes her as saying.

    Tumaka said the crew of the Hong Kong flagged vessel, had originally thought that they were under attack by armed pirates.

    According to her, preliminary investigation showed that the persons on board the vessel were only intruders who hid in the vessel to leave Nigeria in search of greener pastures in the U.S.

    “The stowaways, who included a Liberian national, are in custody and will be handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service for further action.

    “It will be recalled that piracy and related activities have drastically reduced in Nigerian waters as a result of the combined efforts of the Nigerian Navy, NIMASA and other stakeholders with Lagos ac