The director general, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh has said that shipping plays an incredibly important role in the global economy as evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jamoh made the assertion at the three-day NIMASA 2030 medium term strategic plan session held in Lagos.
The session was meant to review performance and strategies to achieve its mandate.
He said the agency’s focus is on driving the government’s agenda of making Nigeria’s maritime sector attractive to investors.
“Shipping is crucial to the survival of the global economy, as was exemplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, where virtually all sectors of the global economy were grounded, except the shipping industry.
“For us at NIMASA, we are focused on driving the agenda of the federal government in making the Nigerian maritime sector attractive for investors, while we keep building the capacity of our people to make them compete favourably with their counterparts in the comity of maritime nations,” he said.
Jamoh also reiterated NIMASA’s commitment to utilising continuous internal stakeholders’ engagement as key component and strategy to achieve its three-fold mandate of maritime safety, maritime security and shipping development.
He said achieving the mandate would require collective efforts from all stakeholders.
Such synergy, according to him, would in turn help drive investors’ confidence in engaging in businesses in the Nigerian maritime sector.
In his presentation, the director general, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola focused on providing leadership in uncertain times, noting that the maritime industry is capable of playing a leading role in reshaping the Nigerian economy.
He enjoined the management of the agency to move with the trend in order to meet up with modern-day realities.
“With the global uncertainty due largely to the Ukraine-Russia war and adapting to the new normal brought unto humanity by COVID-19 which has led to weakening global stability, blue economy is the future.
“Leaders should embrace the use of technology in the maritime sector and acquire new skills in demand. This is the only way Nigeria can provide leadership in the maritime sector,” he added.
He lauded the Jamoh-led administration for embracing continuous stakeholder engagements across the board in the quest to realise the agency’s mandate.
