By Stephen Ubanna
For much of last year and now, Barshir Jamoh, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, and his Management Team, who were said to be working round the clock on a daily basis to ensure that the agency N50 billion idle Modular floating dock currently berthed in Lagos deployed for operations to earn revenue for the government are still not relenting.
Jamoh, the NIMASA Director General had revealed that ’’the agency had worked closely with the immediate past Management of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, under the close watch of Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman is currently working with Mohammed Bello -Koko, his successor, using lessons from past mistakes, of the Authority’’ to ensure a productive and sustainable deployment of the Modular Floating Dockyard as a maintenance base for visiting vessels and those domiciled in the country’’. Hear him: We saw the Modular floating dock belonging to NPA working, with dolphins standing but today it is no more’’’.
The NIMASA multi-billion naira Floating Dockyard that was said to have been built by the world’ largest ship building firms, Damen shipyards, in collaboration with its partner, National Industrial Research and Development Agency, Amsterdam, the Netherlands was said to have been conceptualized and procured by the immediate management of the maritime regulatory agency, Dakuku, Peterside, a Rivers state born politician, but arrived the country in June 11, 2018.
Many had expected Peterside, the erstwhile Director General of NIMASA, to take advantage of his close relationship with Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers state and his political ally, and who incidentally was the minister of Transportation to expedite action to facilitate the deployment of the agency Floating dock for operations.
Until his removal from office in March 10, 2020, by President Muhammadu Buhari, the multi-billion naira floating dock, which was supposed to save about $100 million yearly in capital flight and boost local capacity for the country was idle, and thus became a drain pipe for the agency.
The Floating dock , according to the Association of Maritime Engineers and Surveyors, AMES, was costing the agency a whopping N3.6 million in daily maintenance expenses and an additional N30,000.00 daily as berthing fees that was said to have been paid to the Nigerian Navy Holdings Limited, an a subsidiary of Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo led Navy. More worrisome was the alleged over N100 million monthly running cost for the dock. These are costs that could have been avoided if the former Rivers state governor had helped to facilitate the deployment of the NIMASA dock for operations between 2018 and June, 2022.
In apparent preparation for the deployment of the Floating dock for operation, Jamoh, the NIMASA, CEO, who had secured the Corporation of Hajiya Usman, the immediate past Managing Director of NPA, who was said to have agreed ‘’to hand over its Continental dockyard at Apapa to the agency to use as the preferred location for the Floating Dockyard was said to have moved into action to facilitate the deployment of the dock for operations. He could do that because he knows the benefits of the local Dockyard if it is put into operation to the country.
Given that no one has ever worked on the dock, tested it since its arrival into the country in 2018, may have informed why the agency had ‘’to bring in the Engineers from Damen Shipyard, Netherlands, several times to come and work on it, including the Israelis.
The NIMASA boss may have gladdened the heart of industry stakeholders recently when he disclosed that ‘’the agency has secured the consent and agreement of the people that will give them the location to place the Floating dock. He may have alluded to the NPA.
Recall that the issue of a preferred location for the Floating dock may have prevented the agency from going ahead with its Commercialization as people do not have the confidence to go to the Niger Delta region, described as home of pirates and oil thieves which was the location initially proposed to place the dock in readiness for its deployment for operations.
. It was not surprising why the agency was said to have spent eight months in convincing officials of the ministry of Transportation and the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission, ICRC, under the close watch of Michael Ohiani,’ ‘to give them the approval to commence the operation of the Floating dock in Lagos instead of the Niger Delta region’’.
Jamoh, the NIMASA boss, had told those that cares to listen that ‘‘obtaining the approvals from the relevant Authorities were important preliminary conditions to commence the Commercialization of the Modular Floating Dock ‘’because of the need to engage the managing partners’’ as ICRC, an agency of government overseeing the mode of operations of Public-Private Partnership, PPP, arrangement is expected to midwife the commercialization process.
Muazu Jaji Sambo, a former General Manager, Lagos Zone, Nigerian Inland Waters Authority, NIWA, and now minister of Transportation had described ‘’the deployment of the Modular Dockyard ‘’as one of the low hanging fruits he hopes would be delivered to the nation within the next few months’’.
Last Agust, Jamoh, the NIMASA Director General, and his Management Team had met the Kaduna state born Technocrat and minister of Transportation in his Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, office. The minister was said to have used the opportunity of the NIMASA top Management visit to drum it to their hearing on ‘’the need to deploy the Modular Floating Dockyard for operations’’, noting that ‘’the dock has come to stay’’.
The response from NPA officials during their recent meeting to contemplate using the same people that were said to have been engaged by the Authority to manage their own floating dock may have emboldened Jamoh and his Management to have assured the minister that the agency is ready to deploy to the Floating Dockyard for operations. The NIMASA boss may have known that the agency cannot afford to disappoint the minister who had charged them ‘’to ensure prompt deployment of the Modular Floating dock yard that the agency had acquired since 2018 without doing a single a single job to bring in money into the country.
Indeed, with the ministerial support to facilitate the deployment of the dock for operations may have given Jamoh the confidence to reassure the minister of Transportation, that the agency and NPA,’’ are set to complete the Operationalization of the Modular Floating Dockyard with the installation of dolphins and repair of facilities at the NPA Continental Dockyard facility, where the Floating dock would be operated from’’.
He had given his words that they would do everything possible to ensure that ‘’Modular Floating Dock was put to efficiency’’
He had said that ICRC, is closely providing ‘’the guidance for the deployment of the national asset on PPP model’’ , stressing that the Floating Dock will go through an installation process before it starts humming to avoid creating the impression that they are not yet ready’’.
Sambo, the minister of Transportation may have assured Nigerians that they have no reason worry about the NIMASA, multi–billion naira Floating Dockyard as arrangements have been concluded for deployment and operations. He had said that the date for the commissioning of the dock to start operation would be announced soon’’.
Senator Gbamisola Saraki, a former minister of state, ministry of Transportation, who has been redeployed to the ministry of Mines and Steel Development had said that the Modular Floating Dockyard alone, if put to use could employ 20,000 Nigerians but Amaechi, the immediate past minister of Transportation, who had contested the All Progressive Congress, APC, Presidential primary last June for the 2023, general elections but lost to Asiwaju Ahmed Boa Tinubu, popular, Jagaban, a former governor of Lagos state had given a contrary figure of the number of people that would be engaged by the dock.
The former minister of Transportation, whom Nyensom Wike, the governor of Rivers state had described ”a failure” had said that over 800,000 jobs would be created when the Floating dock become operational while $65 million in revenue will accrue to the government. In another account he had said that ‘‘it had been estimated that it will generate $2.6 million for the country’’.
The much the former minister was said to have close towards seeing to the deployment of the NIMASA idle Floating dock for operations was when one Eric Ojiekwe, his Director of Press disclosed that the ministry would write the Federal Executive Council, FEC, for approval of the projects that would facilitate the deployment of the dock but that was how far he could go.
He may not have succeeded in pushing for the deployment of the NIMASA Floating dock because all his attentions were said to have been diverted to the Completion of the construction of the country’s rail network including Kano-Maradhi, in Niger Republic dual carriage rail network before the expiration of the Buhari’s Administration in My May 29, 2023 to pave way for the new government to step in.
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