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Tag: Peterside

  • Wike, Peterside trade words on sponsors of crimes

    Wike, Peterside trade words on sponsors of crimes

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 general election in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has said Rivers people are tired of the lies, deceit and propaganda of the Nyesom Wike’ administration.

    He accused Wike, a former minister of state for Education, of promoting and supporting kidnapping.

    Peterside, who is the director general of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), spoke at the weekend at APC’s Rivers East Senatorial District campaign kick-off for the October legislative rerun at Okehi, headquarters of Etche Local Government.

    The rally was attended by Peterside’s running mate, Asita Honourable; Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari; APC’s Deputy National Chairman, Oji Ngofa; Rivers Chairman of APC, Chief Davies Ikanya; and candidates for the rerun; among other chieftains of APC.

    Peterside, a former member of the House of Representatives, while speaking at the rally, described the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as a honest man, a man of integrity and a performer.

    He expressed surprise that despite borrowing billions in a little over one year in office, Wike still owed workers six months, giving the excuse of doing biometrics.

    The NIMASA director-general also accused Rivers governor of closing schools and primary health centres built by Amaechi across the 23 councils.

    Wike, who spoke through Samuel Nwanosike, publicity secretary of the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), asked Peterside to apologise to Rivers people and join him to develop the state.

    The Rivers governor denied promoting or supporting kidnapping and other criminal activities in the state.

    He accused the NIMASA’s director-general and other APC leaders of living in lies, describing security as the business of the Federal Government, with governor as logistic officer not chief security officer of the state.

    Wike stressed that all loans taken by his administration to better the lives of Rivers people were approved by the House of Assembly.

    The governor insisted that many projects and programmes were embarked upon by his government, with those allegedly abandoned by Amaechi’s administration being completed.

    Peterside said: “We have another opportunity through the October rerun to correct the lies being told Rivers people. We never voted for Wike’s government and we would not have voted for this government. Rivers people are tired of their lies, deceit and propaganda. No amount of lies, propaganda and deceit can sway Rivers people. We are resolute to change Wike’s government. We want a government that will represent the interest of our people and that government is APC’s government, led by  Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in Rivers State.

    “While NBA (Nigeria Bar Association) conference was going on in Rivers State, a woman was kidnapped in GRA, Port Harcourt. In trying to escape from the kidnappers, she bashed her car and she almost died. While the NBA conference was taking place, another woman was kidnapped in Borikiri, Port Harcourt, in front of her house.

    “We know who gave them (kidnappers) guns and who cannot withdraw the guns. With the October rerun, the end of lies, deceit, propaganda, kidnapping and criminality has come in Rivers State. Your votes will make all the difference. Your vote is your power.”

    The APC’s ex-governorship candidate also said during Amaechi’s first term as governor, while he was the commissioner for Works, many projects were delivered, while challenging Wike’s government to show Rivers people one project it conceived and completed in one year in office, despite borrowing more money than previous governments put together.

    He maintained that economic exploitation must stop in the state, with good governance needed and promised that he and other APC leaders would not rest until good governance was delivered to the people

    Peterside urged them to vote for APC’s candidates, who represent good governance, during the rerun.

    He assured them of security, asking the electorate not to be scared.

    Peterside said: “Proper elections were conducted in Tai Local Government  (of Rivers State during March 19 rerun). After the elections, the returning officer declared the results properly. Somebody, who thought he could act God and could use money to compromise everybody, decided to sit on the results, but at God’s own time, the results of Tai LGA were announced. We thank INEC for the courage.

  • The help Peterside needs

    The help Peterside needs

    Globally, the maritime sector is passing through challenges but it also provides opportunities for growth especially in developing countries where nobody can talk of excess capacity. In good and bad times alike government play a significant role in the growth of maritime sector through visioning, regulation, infrastructural development, creating the right environment, amongst others . This is why the recent developments in Nigeria’s maritime sector is gladdening. We have a Minister of transportation who understands the power of the private sector and a regulator who knows that regulation can make or mar an industry . For once industry players have absolute confidence that the regulator is up and doing, focused and ready to make necessary changes to put the industry on a sound footing to run.

    The global maritime picture is worrisome. There is excess ship building capacity in almost all the ship building centres of the world including China and South Korea that recently have been acknowledged as the topmost two ship building nations in the world ahead of Europe. The fall in the price of crude oil has also affected the demand for new vessels and platforms . Funding of new ship facilities is a big challenge as return on investment has been slow . Competition for new projects is intense between China,Korea and Singapore on one hand and Europeans on the other hand . There is also a serious gap in skilled professionals which ordinarily the developing world should take advantage of. This is despite the fact that in China alone thirty four million persons are employed in the maritime sector yet China do not have enough trained personnel to man the industry.

    The picture of maritime in Africa is not better. Despite new oil finds which should fuel growth in the sector ,the multiplier effect is not being felt. There are no new shipyards established in the past one year, vessels demand is not commensurate with expected trend mostly due to low price of crude oil and low investment in the oil and gas sector . Exports which is expected to boom has not grown geometrically. Africa thus has not maximized the benefit of excess capacity and low demand of vessels in Europe and Asia which could have seen a shift to Africa to handle the effect of competition.

    Nigeria appears worse off in this interplay of forces . A new unpredictable forex exchange regime appears to stifle investment in the maritime sector by making it unattractive. Dip in price of crude oil which is the main driver of maritime growth in Nigeria has not helped matters . Insecurity and piracy has contributed to affect low vessel traffic to the Gulf of Guinea. Excess charges and multiple charges are also having negative impact in both import and export . Poor infrastructure at the ports and access road to the ports has further complicated the matter . The country do not have a national fleet thereby tilting the balance of trade and cargo against her. It’s only natural area of strength skilled manpower is grossly underdeveloped . Nigeria thus have not taken advantage of its geographical location to assert itself as a maritime hub. Two developments seems to give observers of the industry hope of a bright future . One is the realisation by Hon Minister of transportation Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi that the private sector working with Government can change this gloomy picture . The second is the current leadership in Nigeria maritime Administration and safety Agency NIMASA which has proven to be visionary ,dynamic and goal oriented. This is what is referred to in the industry as Government- Stakeholder model for the development of the industry in Nigeria .

    The federal Ministry of Transportation is driving the national fleet project through the private sector. This is to address the gap in cargo sharing , training needs of young cadets , employment opportunities that abound and restore the dignity of Nigeria at the comity of maritime nations without wasting government scare foreign resources. The ministry also intends to upgrade facilities at the ports soon using the public private partnership model . There has been increased industry networking since Amaechi assumed office as minister.

    To complement the trend NIMASA ,the industry regulator seems to have suddenly recovered itself . Dr Dakuku Peterside the Director General has proven to be a competent, knowledgeable and determined driver . NIMASA does all within its power to ensure total enforcement of international standards as enshrined in various IMO instruments . NIMASA is also championing the creation of a critical mass of trained maritime professionals to take advantage of the global acute skill gap that will see to the creation of not less that forty million jobs around the world in the next five years in the industry. A number of new stakeholder supported maritime education and training were laid out recently to see that Nigerians play a leading role as seafarers . The NIMASA helmsman has adopted a number of local and international networking to solve complex problems, this has proven more than useful. His determination to fully implement the cabotage regime will see to the creation of at least ten thousand jobs in the next two years . The promise to reengineer the Nigeria ship registry and make it more technologically driven will see to the explosion of Nigerian flagged vessels and respectability globally . Connected to enhancing the reputation of Nigerian ship register is increased port state (foreign vessels) and flag state (Nigeria flagged vessels) control duties Dr Peterside seems to have deep passion to reposition the industry for accelerated growth and needs to be supported.

    The effort by Federal Ministry of Transportation and the industry regulator, NIMASA, will not pay off unless stakeholders, both from the public and private sector, play critical role in the change we are trying to implement. Government should set the tone and the framework and allow stakeholders to implement and drive a new order . Nigeria is a maritime goldmine waiting to be harvested.

    • Dr Kirkbun is an IMO activist and researcher

     

  • Peterside, NIMASA and reforms

    Peterside, NIMASA and reforms

    Mr Dakuku Peterside, Director General of NIMASA can be described as the man who saw tomorrow.  When he was appointed, without knowing what was coming defined his mission in the regulatory agency  in three powerful words, reform, restructure and reposition NIMASA as the most efficient maritime administration in Africa .

    The CEO of Nigeria’s apex maritime regulatory agency may not have known that there will be massive drop in container volumes in almost all the ports globally . It is on record that container throughput in ports of Los Angeles and Port of Long beach dropped drastically in the past six months . This is not peculiar to the United States as container volumes dropped in almost all major ports in Asia including Singapore a transshipment hub .

    When major shipping companies began to report incredible decline in profit  with a good number reporting losses it became clear that the shipping and maritime industry was passing through challenging times .

    The losses in revenue and profit suffered by shipping companies began to take a toll on new projects in the industry. A lot of new vessel projects previously ordered are being put on hold , worse affected are dry bulk and offshore  market vessels.  Many finance institutions were no longer excited to fund new vessel project because of the projection that it will take a long time for the industry to bounce back to huge profit era.  This also affected revenue for those who derive their revenue from spin off of shipping activities.

    Pressure is on carriers to cut cost of doing business and reduce freight to remain competitive . This has and will have significant impact on the general outlook of the shipping and maritime industry . This coupled with excess capacity in the industry has put the issue of reforms on the front burner of industry discourse . The need to readjust to new economic realities has become inevitable.

    This is where Dr Dakuku Peterside-led NIMASA seems to be getting it right . Since assuming office as CEO of Nigeria’s maritime regulator he has been single minded about reforms. He promised that before one year in office the processes in NIMASA will be fully automated and vessels can obtain provisional registration within forty eight hours and full registration in 30 days .  He promised to eliminate corruption and put NIMASA back on the path of transparency. Dakuku is leading an army to reform NIMASA’s vessel survey, inspection and certification program such that NIMASA will surpass all International maritime organisation indices.

    One area the public has acknowledged the new NIMASA helmsman as focused is giving Nigeria a voice in the international maritime community. Dr Peterside is building the right network to optimise  the benefit of international collaboration and support to unleash growth in Nigeria maritime industry. Being a man of ideas he has been able to sell Nigeria as the next big destination for maritime investment . No one will be surprised if NIGERIA is elected into IMO council by next year .

    Another area NIMASA has made significant impact is in responsiveness to industry changes . NIMASA is now much more dynamic and in sync with rapid changes in the industry . There is s sense of urgency to reform and reposition in the maritime industry.

    To navigate through a massive reform Dr Peterside-led NIMASA is developing a  medium term strategic road map to guide growth in the industry in an orderly manner .

    If there is any area that requires ingenuity it is in handling of massive drop of revenue in NIMASA by as much as 49% yet the new leadership in NIMASA has not slowed down in any of its core mandates.  Rather than impact negatively in the operations of NIMASA , the drop in revenue has spurred NIMASA to find new and creative ways of handling maritime regulation while tackling new developments in piracy and maritime security , environmental issues, implementation of cabotage regime for the benefit of Nigerians  and growing the number of seafarers.  NIMASA is on course and it is one institution that has proven that good leadership can turn a mess to a source of hope . These may not be the best of time for the maritime industry globally but it is a time of discovery for Nigeria on what strong and focused leadership can do for a people.

     

  • We’ll make NIMASA globally reputable, says Peterside

    We’ll make NIMASA globally reputable, says Peterside

    Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has stated that the focus of his team is to make the agency work and client friendly.

    Dr. Peterside stated this when he received a delegation from the African Leadership magazine led by its Publisher Mr. Ken Giama.

    He said: “The dream of NIMASA is to be a respectable voice globally on maritime issues and to be acknowledged as the most effective, most efficient, most competitive maritime administration in Africa that is our dream.

    Peterside added: “We are championing a massive repositioning, reform and restructuring programme, and of course all those that have ideas that will help us are welcome on board”.

    He noted that there is a new regime in maritime administration in Maritime Administration in Nigeria which has moved from one phase to another phase where shipping is safe, secure and environmentally friendly in the maritime sector and our country at large.

    The DG also assured the delegation that NIMASA will take advantage of the African Leadership media group’s global platform to let the world know that there is a new regime in maritime administration in Nigeria that is committed to the adoption of best practises in all areas of its operations.

    Mr. Giama w called for a partnership with NIMASA to use its platform to propagate the changed narrative of Nigeria which was hitherto, negative.

    He also invited the agency to partner with the magazine on its ‘Waste to Wealth’ programme which is aimed at not just engaging young people in productive ventures but also creating job opportunities and generating wealth for Nigeria’s teeming population.

  • NIMASA committed to implementation of Cabotage Act, says Peterside

    NIMASA committed to implementation of Cabotage Act, says Peterside

    The Director-General, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has said  the agency will ensure the Cabotage Act is fully implemented.

    This is contained in a statement by NIMASA’s Head of Corporate Communications  Hajia Lami Tumaka, on Monday, in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Cabotage Act is also known as the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003.

    According to the statement, the director-general said this when he received the leadership of the Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, led by the National President, Mr Matthew Alalade, in Lagos.

    Peterside said proper regulation of the Cabotage Act was instrumental to the development of the maritime sector, adding that Nigerians must be encouraged to be key players in the sector.

    He said the issue of abuse of waivers would be checked.

    “We have not realised the full potential of the Cabotage Act but we have moved a step ahead.

    “Just to be sure that we are committed to the full implementation of the Cabotage Act, issues relating to waiver abuse are being dealt with accordingly,” NAN quotes the director-general as saying.

    Peterside also said the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) would only be disbursed to those who would use it well.

    He said applicants must have the requisite criteria as beneficiaries.

    “We will rigorously screen applicants of the CVFF to ensure the funds are disbursed to people who would use it for purposes the funds are meant for,” the director-general added.

    Peterside said the agency “is screening maritime institutions, and would only accredit ones that can provide the training required in line with global best practices.”

    He, however, noted that NIMASA was not in a position to recognise any Merchant Navy Association as that function fell under the purview of the National Assembly.

    Earlier, the association decried the abuse of waivers in the implementation of the Cabotage Act.

    It requested the management of NIMASA to find ways of reviewing the Act to pave the way for indigenous operators to be more involved in coastal and inland trade in Nigeria.

    The association also sought greater collaboration with NIMASA, especially in the areas of maritime regulatory decision making and human capacity building for the growth and development of the industry.

     

  • Peterside: IOCs must obey cabotage, other laws

    Peterside: IOCs must obey cabotage, other laws

    The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has warned that violation of cabotage and environmental laws by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the country will attract sanctions.

    Peterside who spoke when he engaged representatives of the IOCs in Lagos on ways of fostering a closer synergy to develop the economy,  urged the IOCs to be mindful of all existing laws and regulations in the discharge of their duties as applicable sanctions will be meted out to erring operators.

    He warned that actions such as flouting of Cabotage Act, negative impact to the environment from oil exploration activities, non payment of statutory levies due to the government and inadequate information sharing shall attract strict sanctions.

  • Why we are reforming NIMASA, by Peterside

    Why we are reforming NIMASA, by Peterside

    the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has explained why the agency is being reformed.

    Peterside spoke on Monday when he received the Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Bayo Onanuga, in Lagos.

    He said the NIMASA management would reposition the agency through reform and restructuring.

    “ When NIMASA is painted in badlight, many countries would not have anything to do with us,” he said.

    He said for the management  would use NAN as a critical instrument of eliciting understanding and cooperation of the people.

    “If you know the track record of Bayo Onanuga, there will be no doubt that NAN is ready for its next level of global acclaim.

    “In NIMASA, unfortunately we have some reputation issues. These reputation issues is not about people in NIMASA, they are about a few things that went wrong in the past.

    “There is nothing wrong with the NIMASA brand; there is nothing wrong with the people in NIMASA, there is nothing wrong with NIMASA’s processes.

    “There may have been a few abuses in the past but I believe the security agencies with the anti-graft agencies are handling that so we should allow that be.

    “Going forward, our mandate is to reposition NIMASA, reform and restructure NIMASA and that is where you come in.

    “We cannot think of a better tool if you are going to reform a system than communication. The tool of communication promotes understanding.

    “The tool of communication promotes the sharing of vision, mission. That tool is a potent tool and NAN is a critical instrument in deploying communication to get understanding and cooperation of the people.

    “That is where partnership with NIMASA becomes expedient and germane to the transformation and change we are championing in NIMASA.“

    He described NAN as Nigeria’s window to the rest of the world.

    “NAN tells our story to the rest of the world. No other media organisation is better position to tell our story than the News Agency of Nigeria because your footprints are virtually in every local government.

    “Your footprints are in every state, in every sector of the economy and so the world views us from the way you present us.

    “I want to appeal to the News Agency of Nigeria, please present Nigeria in the right perspective to the world and particularly take interest in what we are doing in maritime sector.

    “The maritime sector is, aside from oil and gas, the second most important of our economy, in terms of employment, in terms of contributing to the revenue of the country.

    “If that sector which contributes so much revenue is painted in bad light, the world will not want to deal with us.

    “It is not about those of us in NIMASA, it is about the far-reaching implications on the economic fortune and agenda of a country.

    “When NIMASA is painted in bad light, many countries would not have anything to do with us.

    “So the long-term interest of Nigeria requires that we report NIMASA and the maritime sector in a good light.”

    Onanuga said as a major news gatherer and distributor, NAN supplied 90 per cent of media content to newspapers and blog owners.

    He said: “NAN offers so many things, SMS services, wire services and others.

    “We have a letter that we have written to formally invite the agency to subscribe to our services.

    “I think these are basically why we are here.

    “NAN provides virtually 90 per cent of the contents that you see either on blogs owned by Nigerians or newspapers owned by Nigerians.

    “Most people do not know; they think those people are operating independently of us.

    “They are relying on us; we are the No. 1 content provider in Nigeria for all bloggers.

    “For all newspapers, they rely on us because they cannot afford the expenses of maintaining reporters in all parts of Nigeria.

    “Many people do not know that NAN has about 500 reporters all over Nigeria.”

     

  • Peterside: we will automate payment process in NIMASA

    Peterside: we will automate payment process in NIMASA

    The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is set to automate its payment system for greater efficiency and eliminate revenue leakages.

    A statement yesterday  by the Head of Corporate Communication Team in NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka, quoted the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, as speaking when he hosted representatives of major shipping companies in Nigeria under the aegis of the Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN) in his office.

    Peterside said the payment system was being reviewed to ensure efficiency.

    He assured the delegation that NIMASA would institute more transparent ways of calculating the three per cent levy charged on all inbound and outbound cargoes.

    “We are automating our payment platform in line with our strategic growth plan to ensure greater efficiency in the payment process.

    “The new process will be integrated with similar platforms of sister agencies in order to correctly ascertain levies chargeable per freight and eliminate the bottlenecks currently being experienced,’’ the director-general said.

    Peterside said the agency’s commitment to the elimination of piracy and other criminal activities on the waterways was unwavering.

    He said the Federal Government through the Office of the National Security Adviser would soon launch a high capacity satellite system which would assist the military in dealing with maritime crimes.

    Peterside also urged the shipping companies to support the NIMASA’s capacity building programme by providing sea time experience for cadets sponsored under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).

     

  • A labourer is worthy of his rewards —DG NIMASA Peterside

    A labourer is worthy of his rewards —DG NIMASA Peterside

    The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has restated the agency’s commitment to ensuring the welfare of all dockworkers at the nation’s seaports.

    The DG made this known, while addressing protesting dockworkers from the ENL Terminal at the NIMASA Headquarters in Lagos.

    While briefing the DG on the reasons for their protest, the spokesman of the workers, Mr. Lekan Afolabi, said that they had been working at the ENL terminal for the past 10 years without appointment letters.

    He said they were only recently issued the letters after they made their grievances known to the ENL Management. He also appealed to the DG to intervene on the issue of their terminal benefits in order to avoid chaos in the ports.

    The DG thanked the dockworkers for being orderly and peaceful in their demands. He said that since the agency regulates maritime labour practices in the country, he  would do everything legal within his powers to ensure that their grievances are adequately addressed.

    “A labourer is worthy of his rewards. In this regard, we shall ensure that no dockworker in all the seaports in Nigeria is short-changed”, he said.

    Dr. Peterside charged the dockworkers to continue to be law-abiding, while the agency tries to resolve the dispute through a tripartite meeting with the leadership of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, ENL Management and NIMASA.

  • Abe condemns assassination attempt on Peterside, others

    Abe condemns assassination attempt on Peterside, others

    •Senator urges Buhari to probe Rivers violence

    • The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Rivers Southeast Senatorial District in last weekend’s rerun election, Magnus Abe, has condemned Sunday’s alleged assassination attempt on the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside; APC’s State Chairman, Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, and the party’s former deputy governorship candidate in last year’s general election, Honourable Asita O. Asita.

    In a statement by his aide, Parry Saroh Benson, the senator said the escalating violence in the state was barbaric, aimed at truncating democracy.

    Abe urged President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the violence in the state under the Nyesom Wike administration.

    He cited last Saturday incident in Gokana Local Government Area, where suspected thugs loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disrupted the elections and threw dynamites into the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Abe said the hoodlums also opened fire on security personnel, scaring away voters, electoral officials and other innocent Nigerians.

    The senator noted that such actions had become too frequent among PDP’s leaders.

    He urged the Federal Government to prevent further killings and loss of property in the state.

    Abe added: “It is clear that the great burden of governance and its responsibility can no longer be shouldered by people who do not understand the meaning of civic responsibility.”