The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has urged the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria to develop a training and certification programme for dockworkers to enable them carry out their duties efficiently.
Dr. Dakuku Peterside made the call when the NITT Director General, Dr. Aminu Musa Yusuf and other management staff of the Institute paid him a visit in his office in Lagos recently.
He said the training became necessary to enable the dockworkers keep abreast with latest developments in the industry.
According to the Director General, officials of NIMASA and NITT should sit down and work out the details for proper implementation.
Dr. Peterside reiterated the readiness and willingness of NIMASA to partner the Institute in the training and retraining of its staff, but suggested that details of how this should be done should be worked out from time to time.
He said there is no better time to seek knowledge than now and assured NITT of its determination to support its noble course. He added that the management of NIMASA under his leadership is reforming and restructuring the agency to enable it achieve the desired goals.
“We are reforming NIMASA, restructuring and changing the way things are being done” he said.
While thanking the delegation for the visit, the Director General congratulated NITT for attaining the age of thirty years and wish the institute and its staff well in the years ahead.
Earlier in his address the Director General and Chief Executive of NITT, Zaria Dr. Aminu Musa Yusuf said in furtherance of the expansion of its training programmes, NITT has been granted license by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to run Port Workers Development Programme for the training of dockworkers in Nigeria.
The license, he said is aimed at encouraging worldwide development and standardization of training programme for port workers in Nigeria and the West African sub region. The license which is for a five year period is valid till December, 2018.
“The training will target dockworkers, crane operators, container terminal operators, multi modal transport service providers, port operators/concessioners and, Customs Agents among other stakeholders in the maritime and port industry”, he said.
Dr Aminu also appealed to the management of NIMASA to take advantage of this training programme to train their dock workers to enhance their capacity and knowledge.
Dr Aminu called for more patronage of its training programmes by NIMASA, even as he acknowledged the contributions of NIMASA to the growth of the Institute.
Dr Aminu told the management of NIMASA that NITT’s programmes especially the Post-Graduate Diploma and Masters both in Transport and Logistics are fully affiliated to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, while the professional Diploma programmes are certified or standardized by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, CILT, London, United Kingdom.
According to the DG, NITT has all it takes to provide qualitative training in all modes of transportation that will enable organizations effectively carryout their responsibilities according to international best practices.
