By Loveth Anyaegbunam
Nigeria is gearing up for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council election in November-December, 2025. It had previously lost six consecutive Council elections, but the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has expressed Nigeria’s intention to contest the 2025 election under Category “C” membership of the Council.
He stated this in December, 2023 in London during the IMO’s thirty-third General Assembly and repeated same in Lagos at a parley with the League of Maritime Editors and Publishers in February, this year.
However, it seems the lead agency for the election, being the nation’s maritime administrator, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has deployed the Machiavellian principle of the end justifies the means to get Nigeria re-elected into the Council after 16 years. This principle presupposes being manipulative, cunning and deceitfully strategic.
So far, the only known maritime diplomatic moves by NIMASA, except the age-long celebrated deployment of security architecture at the Gulf of Guinea, have been described by observers as negatively ambitious, desperate and could be counter-productive, ultimately when the antidotes to this Machiavellian maxim are applied by the international assessors.
Maritime stakeholders are wondering if this reverse strategy was what inspired the Minister to assert that Nigeria had put in place the basic needs to develop the nation’s maritime industry in line with recognized global best practices, advancing reasons why the global community should elect Nigeria into the IMO seat.
He argued on this note that, ”Our active participation in upholding key conventions, such as the Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS) and the International Ship and Port Facility Security(ISPS)Code, reflects our dedication to ensuring the safety of international shipping.
“There have been no incidents of piracy in the last three years, as confirmed by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). By deploying resources to provide maritime security assets, Nigeria has solidified its role as a key guardian of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
With a tone of desperation, however, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr.Dayo Mobereola, also assured that no stone would be left unturned to ensure success in the quest for IMO Category C membership at the next elections, listing the preparations of the agency to relaunch Nigeria on the global position.
“We at NIMASA have met with the IMO technical team and have commenced work on all identified grey areas so that Nigeria can address the gaps identified during the last audit by the IMO. We have also commenced the process of effective communication with other member states using the IMO GSIS platform, among others.
” While we at NIMASA focus on the technical aspects of the preparations, our supervising Ministry will provide the political will to guide Nigeria back to the Council at the IMO.” he declared.
To achieve its aim, NIMASA got recommitted to ISPS Code compliance, with a three – year plan to get the United States Coast Guard(USCG) to build confidence and enhance its chances from the maritime security plank. The thinking is that if NIMASA could get the USCG to lift the Condition of Entry(COE) slammed on vessels departing from some terminals designated as non-compliant with the ISPS Code in June, 2014, it could send positive signal to the international community.
A statement from the agency said this much. “The USCG has consistently partnered with NIMASA to conduct on-the-spot assessments of the compliance level of Nigerian ports with the ISPS Code. These evaluations, which commenced last year as part of a three-year plan, are geared towards providing actionable insights and data-based decisions to lift the Condition of Entry (CoE) placed on vessels departing Nigeria for the United States of America.”
NIMASA has however made considerable progress in its plan with the recent testimonial statement by Mr. Joe Prince Larson, the team lead of the USCG International Port Security Programme, on a working tour of some terminals and ports in Nigeria to ascertain the level of implementation of the ISPS Code across Nigerian ports facilities.
In a predetermined guided tour, Larson and his team were led to visit only the Dangote Port and Lekki Free Trade Zones in Lekki, Lagos State as well as private port facilities operated by Matrix and Julius Berger in Warri, Delta State, out of over 85 terminals and jetties located in Lagos, Warri, Bonny, among others.
In Mr. Larson’s words, “We had the pleasure of visiting Matrix and Julius Berger in Warri, Delta State before proceeding to the Lekki Deep Seaport and Dangote Port in Lagos, with the overall assessment being very positive. We noted that there is a clear and deep understanding on the implementation of the ISPS Code in Nigeria with the level of compliance observed to be at par with some of the best maritime nations globally. We would report our findings back to US Coast Guard headquarters accordingly.”
Without pre-emption to conclusions on what may have transpired, Larson, while delivering an interim assessment report to NIMASA management, noted that Nigeria’s compliance with the ISPS Code ranks amongst the best globally.
The possible questions arising therefrom are: What criteria or checklists were used to arrive at this assessment? Could the assessment of four port facilities out of over 85 in a maritime nation suffice to make conclusions of hope? Or, was Larson playing the music Nigeria wanted to hear?
There are jetties and terminals in Lagos regarded as havens for dangerous and illicit import and export cargo. Some are currently managed by a leading global shipping line. Recently, a government agency staff complained to MMS Plus about the low security compliance level of some terminals, necessitating more monitoring and enforcement. Also, some security agencies and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have made tons of seizures of arms and ammunition as well as illicit drugs from some of these dangerous and vulnerable terminals and jetties with highly compromised operators and users. Findings have also revealed that some operate only at nights.
While the maritime stakeholders’ concerns over this have been of surprise and disconcertion, no record of any known efforts by NIMASA to ensure port facilities up-grade or enforce compliance. Meanwhile, funds are budgeted for this, a staff in the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy stated.
As alleged by a group of worried and concerned NIMASA members of staff in a petition dated March 18th,2025, addressed to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, and a copy sent to MMS Plus, NIMASA has been in a contract award spree, especially over the IMO Council election with direct supervision of the Director –General, a director in the ministry and the head of procurement department in NIMASA.
According to the group which called itself, “Citizens United Against Corruption And Impunity”, the exigency of the IMO Council election has given rise to a new corruption syndicate in NIMASA spearheaded by a key director in the ministry, who has emerged a major contractor in the agency, fronting for others, while alleging further that the sum of “$300,000 was recently disbursed to the director, even as over N200 million” was also allegedly siphoned out of the system through the same director in a process that excluded the relevant executive directors.
The spokesperson of NIMASA, Mr. Edward Osagie, has consistently avoided calls and text messages over this, as MMS Plus has continued investigations on this and other strings of allegations on yet another rising corruption profile in NIMASA.
MMS Plus reports that the country’s preparations for the election are expected to involve strengthening its maritime sector, improving its compliance with international maritime conventions, and showcasing its contributions to global maritime security and sustainability.
Nigeria has declared its intention to contest the IMO Category C election, for the seventh consecutive time. It is scheduled between November and December, 2025.
From 2009 when Nigeria last won the position and 2023 when it pulled out of the contest, the country has failed to win the seat in IMO, and as a result has become a serial loser in its attempts to rub shoulders with the big players in the global maritime industry.
The Assembly, at its thirty-fourth session in 2025, will elect 40 members of the Council for the 2026- 2027 session as provided for in Articles 16 and 17 of the IMO Convention.
The Council is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the work of the Organization.
The Council is made up of 40 Member States, elected by the Assembly for two-year terms.
Between sessions of the Assembly, the Council performs the functions of the Assembly, except that of making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.
The Assembly of the IMO elected the following States to be Members of the Council for the current 2024-2025 biennium:
Category (a): 10 States with the largest interest in providing international shipping services. They include: China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Norway, Panama, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States
Category (b): Consist of 10 States with the largest interest in international seaborne trade. These include: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates
Category (c): Is made up of 20 States not elected under (a) or (b) above, which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world.
These include: Bahamas, Bangladesh, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Türkiye.
