By Uzor Odigbo,
Lagos
Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has urged professional bodies in the country to support government programmes aimed at revamping the nation’s economy.
He made the appeal when members of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) led by its Chairman, Olusegun McMedal, visited the agency’s headquarters on Tuesday.
Dakuku, who was represented by the Executive Director, Operations, Rotimi Fashakin, said that at a time when the nation is diversifying its resources towards ensuring a virile economy, all professionals must rise up to the task by synergizing with government in rendering professional advise where necessary.
He further stressed that NIMASA as an agency of government was open to collaboration with professional bodies on how to reposition the Maritime industry as a major contributor to the national economy. He urged them to always help to portray a positive image of the agency by highlighting its achievements and programmes.
He said that with the approval of government, NIMASA was being restructured for effective discharge of its mandate evident by the recent redeployment exercise in the agency. “We will empower our zones to allow stakeholders carry out their activities instead of coming to the headquarters. This is to fast-track government business to meet the yearnings of the public for better service delivery”, the DG assured.
The Dakuku Peterside led management recently commenced a restructuring exercise to refocus the agency towards achieving its core mandate which among others is the provision of enabling environment for safe and secure shipping.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has called on Maritime stakeholders to make input in the ongoing Port Reform Agenda of the present administration in other to reposition the maritime industry for greater efficiency.
Peterside made this call recently in Lagos when he played host to a delegation of the Editorial Board of the Nation Newspaper led by its Chairman, Mr. Sam Omatseye and the Chief strategist of Epsilon Limited, Mr. Amechi Chukwujama who came to brief him on preparation for a proposed port reforms conference in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
The director general said that there was the need to harness a synergy of ideas from all stakeholders towards ensuring a very user friendly port system that would be a model in the sub-region.
He added that the need for seamless transaction at the ports cannot be over emphasized.
He asserted that the proposed conference would help reposition the Maritime Sector for the realization of the change Agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari led Administration.
The Executive Director (Finance and Administration), Mr. Bashir Yusuf Jamoh in his contribution made a case for the inclusion of the railways in the intended ports reform in order to decongest the roads.