Ship Owners Decry Changes In NIMASA Leadership

Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) has advised the Federal Government against the frequent changes in the leadership of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Chief Isaac Jolapamo, association chairman who gave the advice in Lagos, said that a stop to the frequent changes of leadership would give room for development in the industry.

“We are particularly worried about the activities that create an unstable atmosphere within the Nigerian Maritime industry,’’ he said.

He recalled that NIMASA chiefs such as Festus Ugwu, Mfon Usoro and Ade Dosunmu were all removed in succession over allegations of fraud and “nothing was heard about the allegations’’.

“If a crime is committed, let the law takes its course,” he said.

Jolapamo said that the stunted growth in the maritime industry could be attributed to the frequent changes in the leadership of the maritime industry.

He said that the country lost N3 trillion as capital flight because the nation’s maritime industry had yet to develop.

Jolapamo said that this was what the Nigerian Shipping Act, 2007, Cabotage Act, 2003 and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010 were out to address.

“We need to give leadership of NIMASA time to plan and execute good developmental programmes for the maritime industry as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), CBN, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and NAFDAC, by allowing them to run their full terms.

He said that in the 22 years of establishment of NIMASA, formerly National Maritime Authority (NMA), the apex maritime regulatory agency has had 11 director-generals.

Jolapamo said that NIMASA should not be politicised to allow for growth of the maritime sector, saying that the industry could not develop on political basis.

He said within a short period of time, the present NIMASA leadership had been able to host the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) from 30 million dollars to about 90 million dollars by making international oil companies to start paying.