The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, says the Nigerian Navy has the capability to protect and secure the nation’s territorial waters if adequately funded.

Ezeoba said this aboard the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Thunder during a sea exercise code-named “Exercise FARAUTA’’….

He said that the navy would like to remain at sea as much as it could but it would require a lot of logistics support, “a major determinant and core imperative’’ if it must achieve Mr President’s mandate of stamping out illegal maritime activities in the Niger Delta region,

“If we have to continue to remain at sea, then we must be adequately funded to be able to meet these obligations and that is the only way because you can’t walk on water but you can work on land.

“And for you to be able to do what is important out at sea, then you must have those requisite logistics to support the initiative, otherwise we can’t have remarkable progress.

“I hope moving forward, we will get the support we need from government because we are ready, willing and able,’’ he said.

Ezeoba said that based on the estimate and what the navy had spent in real terms putting eight ships at sea for the exercise for seven days, they were looking at about N600 million, which includes personnel cost, fuel, spare parts and other auxiliary requirements.

“The amount is huge, but to police the waters is capital intensive; we have the human resources required; a lot of people do not realise that the wealth of this nation, in all ramifications, depends on the sea.

“We must understand the importance of keeping this sea lane of commerce secure and open as the totality of import that comes into the country and the entire West African sub-region come from the sea,’’ he added.

Commenting on the exercise, Ezeoba said that 85 per cent of the target of the exercise had been achieved, adding that a number of vessels that had infringed on extant regulations were being investigated.