NIMASA to undergo major reforms- Peterside
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said it would undertake major reforms in the next one year to boast its capacity to drive the growth and development of the Nigerian maritime industry.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside who stated this recently, said the reforms would be in line with the ‘change’ agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, which is committed to the diversification of the nation’s economy.
Hosting a delegation of the Oxford Business Group led by its Country Director, Izabela Kruk, Dr. Peterside said NIMASA already had the requisite knowledgeable human capital that only required committed leadership that the present administration has, to refocus and reposition the Agency.
He said that the Agency was developing a medium term strategic growth plan to aid the Management focus on its core mandate of promoting the development of indigenous capacity in international and coastal shipping as well as effectively regulating the maritime industry in Nigeria.
Peterside pledged his commitment to ensure that NIMASA earned a positive public image away from the negative perception of corruption, inefficiency and abandonment of its core mandate, to that of a maritime administration that is alive to its responsibility determined to making Nigeria the preferred destination for maritime activities in Africa.
He said that the Agency would leave no stone unturned, including seeking legislative amendment if need be, to ensure full compliance with the Cabotage Act 2003, which he said was necessary to fast-track the desired growth in the maritime sector.
The Country Director of the Oxford Business Group, Izabela Kruk had earlier expressed the readiness of the Group to partner the Agency in documenting and publicising NIMASA activities in its widely read journal.
Kruk who highlighted the benefits of the Group’s partnership with some Nigerian agencies including the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) said the collaboration has yielded a lot of positive results for Nigeria pledging that they intend to do same for NIMASA.
The Oxford Business Group is a global publishing, research and consultancy firm, which publishes economic intelligence on the markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America educating investors on the opportunities in these markets and how best to harness them.
