Nigeria Confident To Retain IMO Membership

Nigeria on Monday expressed optimism that it would retain its membership of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Governing Council.

Nigeria has been a member of the council since 2009 and is seeking for a re-election into Category ‘C’ of the council at the 27th Regular Session of the IMO Assembly which commenced on Monday in London.

“From contacts and consultations we have made, we are confident we will retain our Category “C’ membership,” Sen. Idris Umar, the Minister of Transport, told the Western Europe Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in London.

“We have received assurances from friendly member states. We have done quite a number of things that will qualify us for re-election.”

Umar stressed the importance of the council, saying that “Nigeria’s re-election into the council will give it more advantages in the areas of trade and shipping business”.

He explained that by being elected into the Category ‘C’, Nigeria would not only become one of the most important maritime nations in the IMO, but would also become one of the major decision makers in the IMO system.

On the challenges of piracy, the minister said that deliberate steps had been taken by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to tackle the menace, which, he noted, had dropped by more than 70 per cent in the last two years.

“Infact, because of the successes we have recorded, the government of Benin Republic recently approached our President to extend a hand of fellowship to seek for assistance in fighting piracy in that country’s territorial waters.”

NAN reports that nearly 170 member states and three associate members are attending the Assembly.

The agenda of the meeting include a review of the work carried out by the organisation during the biennium 2010/2011, through the council, the five IMO committees and the Secretariat.