Says NIMASA not revenue-generating agency
Former Director General/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Ade Dosunmu, has said the Presidential Policy Advisory Group classification of NIMASA as a revenue generating agency and its proposed merger with Customs and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is a very serious misconception and dangerous for the future of shipping and the maritime industry in the country.
Dosunmu, who is a representative of Nigeria on the Council of International Maritime Organisation (IMO), said it was wrong for the Advisory group to erroneously classify NIMASA as a revenue generating agency, warning that the proposed merger will be counterproductive with huge negative implications for Nigeria in the global shipping community.
He said Nigeria’s waters may be considered no longer safe for international shipping, which can affect the volume of maritime trade and eventually lead to drop in revenue.
Dosunmu, who was a former Assistant General Manager at Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), added that the country’s waters could become a destination for rickety ships, thereby becoming a dumping ground for shipwrecks and derelicts.
He said that currently, Nigeria is the leading maritime nation in West and Central Africa in terms of ship traffic and cargo, adding that the feat was not achieved in a day, but as a result of the cumulative effect of the reforms successive administrations introduced to strengthen the capacity of NIMASA as a maritime safety administration for the country.
Dosunmu explained that NIMASA was created in 2007 following the merger of the National Maritime Authority (NMA) and the Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council (JOMALIC), deriving its powers from Merchant Shipping Act 2007, NIMASA Act 2007 and Coastal and Inland Shipping (cabotage) Act, 2003.
According to him, the enabling Acts give NIMASA statutory powers as specified by international conventions and protocols for the enthronement of global best practices in ensuring safety of navigation and prevention/control of marine pollution in the shipping industry as regulated by IMO, in which Nigeria is a contracting member state.
He added that the agency is also responsible for the development of indigenous shipping capacity and that NIMASA has counterparts in 167 maritime nations responsible for ensuring safer shipping and cleaner oceans through the instrumentality of the technical mandate it performs via port states and flag state inspections, search and rescue, maritime capacity building and maritime security by ensuring the nation’s waters are safe from piracy and sea robbers.
Dosunmu said NIMASA also ensures prevention/control of marine pollution, administers the Training and Certification of Seafarers (STCW ‘95), shipping development, coastal and inland shipping (Cabotage) and maritime labour administration.
According to him, all these functions by NIMASA require technical expertise that can only be performed by a safety administration, which are the same technical functions performed by maritime safety administration of United Kingdom, United States Coast Guard, Safety Administration of Greece, Finland, Cyprus and all other member countries of IMO.
Dosunmu also listed the responsibilities of NIMASA to include, monitoring and controlling activities of the over 40 Floating production storage offloading (FPSO) and Floating Storage Offloading (FSO) like, Agbami, Bonga, Egina and Akpo, engaging in crude oil exploration and production offshore Nigerian waters that are potential polluters.
Dosunmu said emphasis of the government should be on how to strengthen NIMASA to deliver more on its technical mandates and not merging it with agencies that are not compatible with its philosophy and objectives.
