NIMASA: House Committee Assures Jamoh Of Support Towards The Realisation Of His Three Pronged Agenda

By By Elizabeth Chukwuma

At a  time when Lawmakers in the various Committees of the National Assembly that had something  to do with the   Maritime sector  appear unhappy with some of the agencies of the Federal ministry of Transportation under the close watch of Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers state, that they had slashed their 2021  budgetary provision, the Nigerian Maritim Administration, may have   escaped  their  anger.

 The Nigerian Ports Authority , NPA, under the closewatch, of Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman, for instance, was said to have  had  had its 2021 budget  slashed by 25% by the Lawmakers  forcing the agency to scale down on its operations and projects  planned for execution for the year.

 The  Hajia Usman led NPA, , including the Ministry, Department and other agencies, budget that were said to have been slashed was attributed to the adverse effect of the Wuhan Town in Hebe Province of the Asian country of China emerged coronavirus, popular, COVID 19. Hajia Usman, the NPA boss who had confirmed  that  the  Management  had ordered the Port Managers  to disengage from certain activities that that would eat into its budget  said the Management  had no  option but to do so.

The House Representatives  Committee  on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration,  chaired by by Lynda Ikpeazu, may have been exposed  to the judicious budget implementation of the Maritime Regulatory agency   under the close watch of Bashir Jamoh, during an oversight visit  by the members recently. According to Ikpeazu, the visit  was ostensibly’’to monitor  the activities  of  the agency  for the year 2020, and  ‘’see how  it has performed  with the budgetary allocation approved for it’’.  The agency may not have disappointed the Committee  memberswho were pleased with what they saw on ground and not hearsay.

Jamoh And House Committee Members On Safety, Education and Administration

The House Committee Chairman,  believes that Jamoh and his Management Team could achieve that much within the short period, because they had a ‘’laid down a roadmap  for taking the agency to  greater heights’’. Recall that on assumption of office last March as Dakuku Peterside, a former Director General of the agency tenure was not extended after the expiration of his first term in office by President Muhammadu Buhari,   the NIMASA Director General had launched a three-pronged agenda for the  country’s maritime industry and Shipping development . The Jamoh agenda was said to have ocussed  on ‘’ maritime safety,  security and shipping development’’.

Insiders told The Value News that he had limited the agency spending to the priority areas in the nation’s maritime sector . Take for instance the planned disbursement of the $200 million Cabotage Finance Fund, CVFF, to the indigenous shipowners as approved by the Katsina state born Nigerian President  based on the recommendation to Amaechi, the minister of Transportation, who in turn sought the aporoval of the President and got it.

Ikpeazu, the House Committee Chairman on Safety, Education and Administration, who could not hide her feelings had  said that Jamoh and his Management Team had ‘’performed so far based on its assessment  and therefore, requires’’ further Legislative  assistance  in order ’’to generate more revenue for the government’’.

The  House Committee Chairman was said to have given  a pat on the back to Jamoh, who, she said ’’is doing everything within his capacity to reposition the agency  to make sure that it delivers on its mandate of safety, maritime and shipping development.

Jamoh: DG, nimasa, Wins The Heart Of House Committee Members For Performance

Elated by the achievements of the current Management of NIMASA,  she had given her words.’’We will make sure  we  give the Director General  all the necessary support he needs  because we have seen him moving towards the right direction, particular,  addressing the insecurity challenge  in the Gulf of Guinea, which had become a nightmare to many Foreign shipping Companies which   allow  their Container vessels  to sail to Nigerian ports or any other port in the West African sub-region including the Equatorial Guinea.

The brief  by the agency officials  may have been given Hon. Ikpeazu, and the other Committee members may have given them an insight  to the agency. This is  evident  by her  remarks. She had said that ‘’the issue of security whchi is being addressed by the agency  would go a long  way  to positively  affect the  revenue generation in the nation’s maritime sector’’.

 She may have dropped a  good news for the NIMASA Management  when she revealed that ‘’the coastal and shipping Act Amendment Bill, had gone through  the first reading in the House and may soon go to the second reading before going to the Committee  stage. Given an insider information, she disclosed that  that the proposed Amendment  will reflect  the Contemporary issues  that would be  beneficial  to the indigenous ship owners. She did not  hesitate in telling Jamoh and his Management Team, that ‘’a more responsive Cabotage Law will stimulate  opportunities  and policies for giving Seafarers   jobs and  improve  on shipbuilding capacity of the country’’.

In apparent response to Ikpeazu, the House Committee Chairman  on Safety, Education and Administration, remarks,  Jamoh,  who was elated by the encomiums showered on him,  ‘’thanked the Committee members  for their Cooperation and support , which had facilitated the achievements that had been recorded in the agency. The NIMASA Director General was said to have assured the Lawmakers  that  ‘’human capacity development  in the nation’s maritime industry  would continue to take a pride of place under his Management’’.

He may have been encouraged to invest on maritime capacity development because he believes that ‘’human beings  are the most  important link   in  the maritime industry and at the same time,’’ the weakest and most Complicated’’ in the industry’’.

He had stressed  that  current NIMASA  Management   ‘’will take the issue  of training  and capacity development of staff  seriously ‘’. This is in addition to maintaining a close working relationship with the Maritime Workers Union, to ensure that the workers  are properly trained . This may have informed the relative peace being enjoyed in the industry in the recent time.

Philip Kaynet, a Deputy Director, and the NIMASA Head, Corporate Communications had said that things are working out well in the agency because the agency Director General is carrying everybody along , which had made the staff to cue into the three-pronged agenda to ensure its realisation.       

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