Maritime:  Adegboyega Heaves A Sigh Of Relief Over Three Years Uninterrupted  Zero Piracy In Nigerian Waters, Gulf Of Guinea; Speaks  On Plans To Disburse  CVFF, And Other Issues  

By Stephen Ubanna

Until he was eased out from office in early  March, 2024, as the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh,  who was said to have taken advantage of the North American country of the United States, US, $195.3 million, maritime security assets acquired by the then President Muhammadu Buhari, to deal deadly blow on the Pirates and sea robbers in Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea was on top of the situation.

The then Nigerian President who had bowed to pressure from the NIMASA, Authorities, had engaged the services of the   Israeli firm,  HLSI  Security Systems and Technologies Limited,  at a contract sum  of $195.3 million, to supply maritime security assets comprising of   17 Interception Boats, 16 Amphibious Vehicles, to patrol Nigerian coastal  ways , two Special Mission Vessels, SMV,  two Special Mission Aircrafts, SMA,  three Helicopters  for Surveillance of Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ,  and four unmanned  Aerial vehicles, popular drones to the  maritime regulatory agency. The Israeli security firm, was said to have delivered the maritime security assets to the agency to prosecute the Deep Blue Project between   2021 and 2022.

In giving a deadly blow on ‘’the pirates and sea robbers’’ who operates around the Nigerian waters and  Gulf of Guinea region, the agency which was said to have handed the sea equipment to the Nigerian Navy, which currently has Vice Admiral, Emmanuel Ogalla, as the Chief of Naval Staff, CNS,  it was said to deployed the  security assets into operations , forcing the pirates and sea robbers which could stand the superior fire of the  Naval personnel  to relocate to Somalia and other parts of the world to carry out their deadly attack on cargo carrying vessels and their Crew members.  

Going by the World Map,  the coastal  area surrounding  the Gulf of Guinea, described as a deadly zone, in maritime  circles, comprises 17 countries which includes Republic of  Benin, Central African country of Cameroun, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana,  Coted’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria and  SaoTome Principe,   which  border the region  from  the Atlantic ocean, while countries like Angola,  Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo,  Liberia, Siera Leone, Guinea-Bissau,  Gambia  and Senegal border it from the south.

Member countries of the Gulf of Guinea region, ought to have pulled resources to be able to , fight the pirates and sea robbers   being an important shipping zone for the transport of   cargoes  to and from Europe, United Kingdom, UK, and  Asian countries of China, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the US, to the West and Central African sub-regions. But the Gulf of Guinea member countries, appears to have left the anti-piracy   battle for Nigerian to tackle alone. The Nigerian Government may not have disappoint anyone as it has channeled both resources and personnel to deal decisively with the Criminal elements that in the last three years, the region had witnessed zero piracy operations. That much was confirmed by Adegboyega Oyetola,  a former governor of Osun state and now minister of marine and blue economy.

There is no gain saying the fact that the Gulf of Guinea region  , alone  accounts for 25%,  of the African Continent  maritime traffic  and is home for  to over  20  Commercial seaports, with about seven of the ports being  in Nigeria, which includes the Lagos ports of Apapa, Tincan Island, Port Multi services Terminal Limited, PTML, and the south eastern ports  of Onne, and portHarcourt  both in Rivers state, Warri, Delta state and Calabar, Cross river state.

Maritime reports show that between 2007 and 2022, the region was the one of the world’s hotpots for piracy and sea robbery activities as obtained in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, where Somalia pirates operate, but the situation appears to have become different over the last three years.

 With the intensified Naval patrol of Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea, using the country’s maritime security assets acquired by the Nigerian Government for the Blue Economy Project, NIMASA, with the support of other security agencies , particular,  the Navy,  Nigerian Air Force and the Maritime Police of the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, were said to have completely contained the activities of the pirates  armed attacks on cargo laden vessels, vessel boarding and hijacking, kidnapping and assassinations of Crew members.

At a recent interactive session between the League of Maritime Editors, LOME, which has Remi Itie, popular, Mama  maritime, as the President of the Association, Adegboyega,, the minister of marine and blue economy, who was said to have been accompanied by top officials of the ministry and the agencies under the ministry Chief Executive Officers ,CEO, including the Rector of the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, the minister was emphatic  that’’ there had not  been any report of  attack  on cargo vessels  in the gulf of Guine region in the last three years.

Many believes that these had  been made  possible because , Dayo Mobereola, the incumbent, Director General of NIMASA, had continued from Jamoh, his predecessor  in office, had stopped to deal decisively with the pirates which was said to have made the Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea region too hot for the Criminal elements to operate.

Mobereola: DG, NIMASA

The former Osun state governor may have taken advantage of the interactive action with LOME, members, to speak out on the delay on the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund, CVFF, to the indigenous shipping companies to acquire ocean going vessels.

This is to enable Local shipping companies compete with the foreign shipping Lines in carrying Nigerian bound cargoes including Crude Oil to the International market on a Free on Board, FOB , arrangement as allowed foreign ship companies and not on Cost Insurance Freight, CIF, for the export cargoes.

Mobereola, the NIMASA  Helmsman, who was said to have  been given the approval by the minister  to shed more light on the true situation of the Fund, as it concerns his agency  had said  that  ‘’the delay in the  disbursement of the CVFF, was not deliberate but  to avoid the mistakes of  past’’ where some of the indigenous shipping who had benefited from such loan had seen it as their own share of the national cake as they had  refused to repay back the loan  for other indigenous shipping companies  to benefit from it.

The NIMASA, CEO, who could not hide his feelings had said   that more primary lending institutions had been engaged to join Zenith bank, Polaris, UBA, Jaiz bank and Union bank, in the plan ‘’to disburse the fund’’.

  In spite of that  efforts  that had been made by MMobereola and his Management Team to finalize arrangement for  the disbursement of the CVFF, the minister of marine and blue economy, major concern remains  to see that ‘’Nigeria has a National shipping Line’’ as obtained in other maritime nations.  

The minister may have sent a message to those that wants the domestic fleet to be expanded to forget it about it for now. He was said to have sounded it loud and clear that ‘’there is no plan to expand domestic shipping fleet but to establish a national shipping line through public private partnership, PPP, arrangement just as NIMASA Authorities had been urged ‘’to automate the agency registry to reduce human contact’’.

The Osun state born politician was said to have stated clearly that ‘’the plan to establish a national shipping Line will be private-sector driven’’, apparently in recognition of the fact that the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line, NNSL, which had been liquidated since 1995, was government-owned.

Speaking on the nation’s maritime industry development and capacity building, he was said to have disclosed of plans ‘’to Launch the national policy   on the Blue Economy’’. Given an insider information on the nation policy on the blue economy project, he had said that the document   will set out ‘’the development goals, strategies and initiatives for the sector for the next 10 years to generate the much-needed revenue for the government and create jobs’’ for the teeming unemployed Nigerian Youths.

On the provision of basic port infrastructural facilities and inter-connectivity, the minister had given his words to facilitate the ongoing   development of   critical maritime infrastructure in the deep seaports to be developed in Akwa Ibom state, Badagry, Ondo, Bonny, Snake Island and Agge, through PPP, arrangement and completion of the Inland Dry ports at Jos, Capital of Plateau state, Bauchi, Ijebu Ode, in Ogun state.

Danshoho, MD, NPA, automate Nigerian Ports at all levels of operations at the instance of degboyega, minister of marine and blue economy

The minister who is determined   to improve the nation’s port efficiency, was said to directed Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority,NPA, ‘’to digitalize and automate all levels of ports operations and procedures to ensure seamless, access to services, devoid of human contact, and establish electronic port management system, or port Community system’’.  

Sppeaking on the same platform with the minister, Mrs. Itie, President, LOME, had given the Association’s position on some key industry issues that requires the minister’s intervention.

The League President had alluded ‘’to country’s weak port security system and a defective highly politicized shipping capacity development with port systems’’, urging the minister to intervene to solve the  nagging problem.  The LOME, President was said to have also drawn the attention of the former Osun state governor, ‘’to the unending problem of the regime of Waivers granted some industry operators after 22 years of the implementation of the Cabotage Act which is posing a threat to the growth of the economy. 

Another issue which the LOME President was said to have also drawn the attention of the minister to   was ‘’the poor performances of the Cadets of the National Seafarers Development Programme, NSDP, scheme, designed as a stop-gap measure   which was said to have since become a regime  that is politically motivated and therefore should be ‘’scrapped’’.

 She was said to have equally  alluded to ‘’the poor performances   of the Nigerian Cadets in Certificate of Competence, COC, Examination’’ and its concomitant negative impact on their resultant un-employability in the international Labour market.  The absence   of Cadets approved Training ship to enable them conclude their Training    and Certification   to do their mandatory sea time for their Course completion remains worrisome.

The Group would also want the minister to address the knowledge, skills gaps and faulty recruitment in in the ministries and maritime agencies which had remained a major challenge over the years.  The League, would want the minister to look at the issue of port security, Truck Transit Time, expired Terminal Concession of the portfolio Operators and the politics of the contract renewal.

The group was said to have further highlighted NIMASA ‘s inability ‘’to possess accurate record of the volume of crude oil  lifted in the country’s oil terminals in the Niger Delta region    despite its officials presence   at the lifting  of crude oil  by the foreign shipping Lines   at Escravos, Formaros and other Terminals and Platforms in the oil  terminals in the region.

Describing the N150 billion, modular floating dock located at the NPA, dockyard as ‘’a national embarrassment and   manifest evidence of ineptitude   and lack of clarity of purpose’’, Mrs, Itie, who was said to have spoken the mind of members, would want the minister to urgently   address the problems.

The group was said to have also lamented NIMASA’s, inability ‘’to provide statistics   of shipping companies rigs and underwater firms operating in Nigerian waters, causing the country to lose billions of naira revenue from the source.  The League President noted that with research and deployment of staff, these problems can be addressed permanently.

Stacked Containers at APM, Apapa, very expensive to clear, compared to other ports in the West and Central African sub-regions

More worrisome was the inability of NSC, to assert its Authority   in ‘’bringing down the regime of high shipping charges’’ that was said to have made the country’s seaports the costliest in the West and Central African subregions.  The group had lamented that ‘’Lack of appropriate Legislative backing for the Council   to enforce its role   had made it helpless before the industry operators as some of them appears to be above the Laws.

This may have informed why the group, had stressed the need for the minister of marine and blue economy   ‘’to apply his lobby skills as a politician to facilitate   the passage of the Council’s Amendment Bill in the National Assembly   and signing into Law by the President that will make agency  as a truly  port regulator.

  Akutah Pius Ukeyima, the NSC, Executive Secretary, who was said to have been given the opportunity to speak on the issue by the minister, is optimistic that the Council amendment bill will soon be passed by the National Assembly  in preparation for the President to sign it into Law and implementation by the agency.     

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