Reps Task FG on Navy Infrastructure

The House of Representatives Committee on Navy has called on the federal government to provide the Nigerian Navy with the needed infrastructure to enable it deliver on its primary responsibility.
Chairman, House Committee on Nigerian Navy, Yusuf Gagd  stated this after a tour of Navy formations and facilities in Port Harcourt, saying the committee has concluded plans to hold stakeholders meeting on how to improve the maritime sector.
According to him, “There is a need for us to provide infrastructure that will guarantee the functions of those things that we need to grow further in terms of platforms, the jetties are even non-existent.
“I will again give you an example with the airport. You cannot have a functional airport without a functional landing facility. So you cannot have a navy, a ship and so on, without functional jetties. So if we want the activities of navy to function, we have to look at those basic infrastructure and provide them.”
The House Committee chairman, expressed happiness that maritime crime has reduced in the country and commended the Nigerian Navy for its efforts in combating crime in the waterways.
“We have not seen any institution of government that sticks to their own contract specification the way we have seen Nigeria Navy perform. We have seen contracts that were initiated by the Navy itself and executed by them.
“We have seen an organization where you have abandoned project. Navy will not go and initiate another one, they will ensure that provision is made to complete the abandoned one before they go on another,” Gadgi, stated
In his speech, the Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral David Adeniran called for cooperation from all stakeholders in sustaining the success recorded in the maritime sector.
“The important thing is that we have been able to show and justify the resources that have been entrusted in the hands of the Nigerian Navy, and the maritime environment is not an environment that is Navy alone, there are other agencies that also operate there.
“Therefore all hands must be on deck to ensure that the Navy performs its role adequately,” he stated.
The Tide reports that over 100 maritime stakeholders attended an interactive meeting with members of the House Committee on Navy in Port Harcourt.

By: Dennis Naku