The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has said that the agency is committed to the establishment of a strong and sustainable national fleet for the country.
Receiving members of the National Fleet Implementation Committee, who paid him a courtesy visit at the agency’s headquarters in Lagos on Wednesday, Dr. Jamoh said that the desire for a Nigerian shipping line was gradually being achieved.
A statement by NIMASA on Wednesday in Lagos said that Jamoh told the team led by the committee chairman and Executive Secretary, Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, that the need for a national carrier “cannot be overemphasised’’ owing to the enormous economic benefits it offered.
He noted that the time is ripe to have a national carrier and develop the maritime industry since the world is gradually looking away from fossil fuels, which currently forms the mainstay of the Nigerian economy as President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to diversify the economy from oil.
“Nigeria cannot be caught unawares; we need to look at ways of developing our shipping sector, which from studies, is capable of earning the country even more than oil annually,” he said.
According to Jamoh, the Nigerian maritime sector has the potential to grow between three and five percent annually due to the size of the local market, but regretted that this capacity remained mostly untapped.
He said that since the liquidation of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) in 1995, the country had been looking for avenues to float a national fleet, though through private sector participation.
The NIMASA boss said that the government had over the years put different measures in place to stimulate the maritime sector due to its strategic importance to the economic fortunes of the country.
He added that the nation needs to have a sustainable national shipping line in order to avoid the reasons the NNSL was liquidated.
“The agency’s commitment to fully and actively supporting the drive for a wholly Nigerian-owned and operated fleet is unwavering, and this is one of the main pillars that NIMASA is built upon,” he said.
Responding, Mr. Bello said the committee was at a critical stage of the national fleet implementation process, stressing that capital injection was required at this juncture to actualise the project.
“The quest for a Nigerian fleet is essential in ensuring that the country regains control of its external trade, thereby opening up the economy.
“This is a perfect time for Nigeria to invest in its own fleet with global dependency on oil projected to dwindle considerably by 2030 and alternative power sources replacing fossil fuels in many countries.
“Consequently, a mono-economy such as ours should be diversifying into other revenue streams with maritime being a major potential earner,” he said.
Bello said the primary objectives of the committee were to create employment opportunities for Nigerians; reposition the Nigerian maritime sector and generate revenue for the Federal Government.
GIK/APA