Having spent over 100 days in office, the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Dakuku Petersham addressed several issues bothering the agency during a recent media parley with journalists. MMS Plus brings you his position on these pertinent issues.
Revenue
Most of our projects would require revenue but once we block all revenue leakages in NIMASA, our finances would be enhanced. I also acknowledge that the global economic downturn as well as the new forex policy would affect our revenue. The new import and export restrictions as well as the fall in global oil prices also affect our revenue.
Nigeria runs a monolithic economy where everything is centered on oil but this oil generation has taken a hit as a result of the challenges globally as well as the Niger Delta militants.
As I speak to you, if not for our ingenuity at NIMASA we would not be able to pay staff their salaries. This is because we have made several commitments that we need to exit. We have fewer vessels coming into the country. We also have the TSA (Treasury Single Account) and NIMASA is to keep 25% of its revenue in the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the federal government. With the TSA, one cannot even play smart with the money as the federal government collects its share swiftly.
Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF)
The law establishing the CVFF requires that the Minister would make regulations while NIMASA is the home of the fund. At the moment people are applying for the fund but financial institutions would have to do the risk analysis before reporting to NIMASA and we submit to the Minister.
The Minister has developed a model with stakeholders. If the obligation of CVFF is to grow local tonnage and the participation of Nigerians in indigenous shipping, we should achieve this objective. How come we don’t have any vessel flying the Nigerian flag? Amaechi is facilitating the coming together of ship-owners to acquire big ocean-going vessels rather than the smaller vessels so they can participate in the lifting of Nigeria’s crude and other things we import or export as a nation.
There is also the issue of a national carrier which would ensure massive employment, restore national pride, guarantee economic benefits as well as security. It was the stakeholders that suggested that since the fund was for ship-owners, they should come together and acquire a shipping line. CVFF has not lost its objectives and I can assure that before the end of our three years medium term plan, CVFF would be applied for the purpose it was meant for.
Staff Welfare
I believe institutions don’t work without people because Institutions are driven by people. I would not hold back any benefit or entitlement of any staff of NIMASA for one second because I am a “people person”. We would factor the welfare of staff in our re-positioning strategies at the agency. I have the support of all the staff at NIMASA through their departmental heads and I believe that we have the best hands in NIMASA so let’s put these good hands to work.
Global West Contract
NIMASA has a relationship with Global West. The appropriateness is not what we are looking at and the reason is simple. The anti-graft agencies are investigating the activities of Global West while some cases are in court. I know that you would not advice me to talk about an issue that is in court.
Global West was not engaged to provide NIMASA security but to provide NIMASA vessels and the people who boarded these vessels were Naval officers because the Nigerian law doesn’t empower private individuals to bear arms on our waterways.
Neither Tompolo nor Global West acquired training vessels. What they acquired were security vessels. Training vessels are specially built for that purpose.
Maritime University
Maritime university is not primarily the responsibility of NIMASA. NIMASA provided part of the initial fund for the maritime university but it’s not the primary function of NIMASA.
NIMASA is supervised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the government policy today is to review the entire concept of maritime university. Is the university what we need or deserve? Is the location apt for what we want? What do we intend to achieve with the maritime university? On our priority list, where does it fall?
The review process is ongoing and as soon as the government’s review process is over we would run with the government’s position because we are a government agency. In a nutshell, Maritime university proposed at Okerenkoko is been reviewed.
Coast Guard
I have nothing against Coast Guard but Coast Guard has different models operated in different countries depending on the local peculiarities. In the UK, you have the Maritime Coast Guard Agency which equivalent of NIMASA in England. In United States, the equivalent of NIMASA is split into two, namely Maritime Administration as well as the United States Coast Guard. In some countries, the Navy is the coast guard and the maritime administrator as well. The model of coast guard in each country depends on the peculiarity of that country. In Nigeria, we are planning to have a Maritime Guard Command as a unit of NIMASA. It’s not for me to determine as the DG NIMASA. If our laws say create a Coast Guard, I will do so.
Certificate of Competency
These certificates had not been signed for sometime but at the moment we have signed all. In the last two weeks we have signed all outstanding certificates of Competence about 400 of them. No document stays in my office for more than 24 hours. Most times I work at night signing documents and letters although things may be challenging at the moment as NIMASA’s finance is at it’s lowest ebb.
Banana Pills in NIMASA
If we ensure we do the right things in the right order as prescribed by law, we have nothing to fear. I can assure that NIMASA would strive to do the right things in the prescribed order and within the confines of the law and with the best intentions.
Health Care
I was at the Resource Center at Kiribati to discuss with the staff to know their challenges. Over time, I have realized that it is important to meet your people where ever they are to know how work is going. In the course of my discussion with the people in Kirikiri we talked about the health go plans.
When I come in I noticed that there has been a contention between having a retainership system where you retain health centers and the human resource and insurance firms. In a general meeting with NIMASA staff we agreed that we should set up a committee from various departments if the agency to do a report and the committee did a wonderful job. They sent in a report that no one can dare challenge and I gave them a letter of recommendation for their efforts. That report has been turned in and I have studied it. But before we take a decision on which of the health care programmes to adjust and we acknowledge that there is a federal circular supporting organizations to key into health insurance schemes. So we are going to convey a top management meeting to discuss the report. You can only work with people who are alive and for them to be alive they must get adequate health care.
Capt. Wareedi Eniosuoh
Capt. Wareedi is a staff of NIMASA who is on suspension and by NIMASA rules he cannot work in the agency until he clears himself before the court of law. I’m conscious of this. Wareedi has not been recalled to NIMASA neither has he been appointed as my technical assistant. In fact I don’t have a technical assistant even though I am entitled to one. I don’t know those peddling the rumours that I have made Capt. Wareedi my technical assistant. However, as a Nigerian and also as a staff of NIMASA, Wareedi has the right to come into NIMASA to ask for anything but he cannot come in and work. Remember he is innocent until proven otherwise. So you can’t deprive Wareedi from his right to access NIMASA and I will not do that.
