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Nigeria Looks to marine resources for economic recovery, says Gbajabiamila:

·     …   .As
NIMASA  hosts African Day of Seas and
Oceans
·        …Forwards
6 international instruments on blue economy for ratification
Dr Bakari Wadinga, Perm Sec, Common Service, Office of the HOCS, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Hon. Linda Ikpeazu, Representative of Speaker House of Reps, Mrs Margret Orakwusi and Danjuma Dauda, Director, Maritime Safety and Security, FMOT at the 2019 African of the Seas and Oceans organised by NIMASA in Lagos, Thursday July 25.


Nigeria’s rich maritime resources represent a vital
economic safeguard and vehicle for the successful implementation of the
President Muhammadu Buhari government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan
(ERGP), which must be sustainably tapped, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated.

Gbajabiamila said this on Thursday in Lagos at a
ceremony hosted by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency
(NIMASA) to mark this year’s African Day of Seas and Oceans, with the theme,
“Harnessing Nigeria’s Marine Biodiversity for Accelerated Economic Growth.”


NIMASA
Board Chairman, Maj. Gen. Jonathan India Garba Exchanging pleasantries with the
Secretary General, Abuja MoU, Mrs. Mfon Usoro . With them is  the NIMASA DG, Dr. Dakuku
Peterside, during the 2019 celebration of African Day of Seas and
Oceans in Lagos. 


Speaking on the theme, which echoes
the African Union (AU) subject for the 2019 African Day of Seas and Oceans,
“Enhancing Africa’s Role in a Globally Binding Instrument on Marine Biological
Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction”,
the Speaker pledged that the legislature would support efforts by the
executive to ensure sustainable management of the country’s vast marine
resources.


L-R:  NIMASA Board Chairman, Gen. Jonathan India Garba (Rtd); Dr Bakari Wadinga, Perm Sec, Common Service, Office of the HOCS, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Hon. Linda Ikpeazu, Representative of Speaker House of Reps and Danjuma Dauda, Director, Maritime Safety and Security, FMOT at the 2019 African of the Seas and Oceans organised by NIMASA in Lagos , Thursday July 25.



That was as the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku
Peterside, disclosed that the Agency had sent to the Federal Government for
ratification six International Maritime Organisation (IMO) instruments as part
of efforts to ensure sustainable management of the marine environment.

According
to Gbajabiamila, who was represented by Hon. Linda Ikpeazu, “Efficient
management and sustainable exploitation of the marine resources in our seas and
oceans, no doubt, provide a veritable tool for our
Economic Recovery and Growth Plan as a country and give expression to
our sustainable development goals.”

He added, “We will support the sustainable governance
of Nigeria’s seas and oceans and the efforts of the executive arm of government
that would see the effective domestication of relevant international
conventions of the International Maritime Organisation on marine environment
management through legislative enactments.

“The National Assembly would also work with the
executive arm in putting in place the necessary legal framework for the Blue Economy
to engender and protect the Nigerian marine environment and development of the
ocean economy.”

Dakuku, in his remarks, reiterated NIMASA’s critical
focus on the development and protection of the marine environment, saying, “Our
efforts in this area have been recognised by the International Maritime
Organisation.”

He listed the marine environment management
instruments forwarded to the government for ratification to include: the Hong
Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships,
2009; International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel; the Protocol Relating to
Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties
Intervention), 1973; and Protocol on Limitation of Liability for Maritime
Claims (LLMC), 1996.

Speaking also, the Chairperson, Head of the Civil
Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, who was represented by the
Permanent Secretary, Common Services, Dr. Bakare Wadinga, said maritime security
and development were a top priority of the Federal Government in the execution
of the ERGP. 

The Chief Host, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry
of Transportation, Sabiu Zakari, said
with Nigeria’s over 850 kilometres
coastline, the country was blessed abundant resources to back its economic
diversification and development drive.

 Zakari, who was represented by Director,
Maritime Safety and Security in the ministry, Dr. Danjuma Dauda, also restated
the government’s commitment to the development of the maritime sector.

The
event featured paper presentations by President, Women’s International Shipping
and Trading Association (WISTA), Ghana, Jemilat Mahamah; Secretary-General of
Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (Abuja MoU), Mrs. Mfon Usoro; environmental
consultant, Professor Babajide Alo; and President, Chartered Institute of
Logistics and Transport, Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Jibril.

Dignitaries
at the event included the Director-General of the National Oil Spill Detection
and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Mr. Idris Musa; Rector, Maritime Academy of
Nigeria (MAN), Commodore Duja Effedua; and Chairman, Shipowners Forum, Mrs.
Margaret Orakwusi. There were also members of the Governing Board of NIMASA led
by the Chairman, General Jonathan India Garba.

The
African Union (AU) had set a 10-year period from 2015 to 2025 as the Decade of
African Seas and Oceans, and July 25 as the African Day of seas and oceans.

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