…Calls for 48-hour cargo clearance at ports
The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on Monday, ordered an immediate staff and financial audit of the Nigerian Maritime and Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Amaechi gave the directive in the course of his maiden tour of the Lagos ports and the NIMASA’s Resource Centre facilities, domiciled at Kirikiri area of Lagos.
But the Minister gaffed and showed his ignorance of the maritime industry operations when he tasked the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to redouble its efforts towards ensuring a 48 hour cargo clearing regime in Nigeria, failing to realize that the task was no longer within the purview of a landlord model NPA, but a shared-responsibility of the Customs Service, Seaport terminal operators and other Service providers.
Amechi disclosed that he had specifically promised President Muhammadu Buhari that he would ensure Nigerian ports achieved 48 hours cargo clearance target; and stressed the need for NPA to leave no stone unturned in a bid to ensure that he delivers on his pledge to the President; noting that Nigeria was a lot far developed than some countries where 48-hour cargo clearance was already achieved.
The Minister was visibly angry with the deplorable state in which the last NIMASA administration had abandoned agency facilities, particularly the ill-equipped clinic laboratory at the NIMASA Resource Centre, having discovered that the Search and Rescue (SAR) clinic was not only poorly equipped, but that the library and Conference Halls were also leaking.
He lamented the deplorable state of the Canteen, and wondered what contracts were awarded in the past, without taking cognizance of the strategic Resort Centre.
“The chairs are not okay and the place is leaking” the Minister complained, directing the Acting Director-General of NIMASA, Mr Haruna Jauro, to furnish his office with the details of contracts awarded by the agency for verification.
He insisted on obtaining details of financial and contract report of the agency since its inception.
“Over N100 billion is given to this agency yearly and I am yet to see how it has been spent. I am yet to see some of the projects being executed by NIMASA.”
He also called for the staff nominal roll and details of staff employed by the agency and their qualifications, instructing the acting director-general to forward the staff nominal roll of the agency to the Federal Ministry of Transportation to know if there were vacancies to be filled.
It would be recalled that the agency came into being following the merger of National Maritime Authority (NMA) and Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council on Aug. 1, 2006.
Picture captions…
Pix 1: From left: Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika; Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and Acting Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro, during the facility visit by the Ministerial delegation to NIMASA Resource Centre at Kirikiri, Lagos… on Monday
Pix 2: From left: Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi; Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika; and Acting Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro, during visit to NIMASA headquarters in Apapa, Lagos by the Ministerial delegation … on Monday
Pix 3: From left: Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika; Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and Acting Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro, during the facility visit by the Ministerial delegation to NIMASA Resource Centre at Kirikiri, Lagos… on Monday
Pix 4: From left: Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika; Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and Acting Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro, during the facility visit by the Ministerial delegation to NIMASA Resource Centre at Kirikiri, Lagos… on Monday.
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