The Cleaner Lagos Campaign, today, received a boost as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA donated some safety kits to the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA to upscale its operations.
Items donated to LAWMA by the agency include 1,000 branded Coverall, 1,000 traffic Cones and 1,000 nose masks.
Speaking during the presentation of the kits to LAWMA Management which took place at LAWMA headquarters in Lagos, the Director, Internal Audit, NIMASA, Mrs. Olumide Odusanya disclosed that NIMASA had brought some bare essentials to support the government and the good people of Lagos State to complement government’s clean environment drive and environment agenda.
Odusanya who was represented at the event by the Deputy Director, Internal Audit, Samuel Ajayi explained that the goal and spirit of that intervention package were to identify with the physical environment’ challenges, support in creating solutions, and offer inspiration even she urged them to receive the gifts in the spirit in which they were given.
She said, “The idea is to find a way to connect more closely and bond with our operating environment and stakeholders as we pursue the Agency’s vision, mission and core mandates of maritime regulation and promotion.
“We are on a mission, a mission driven by the complexity and peculiarity of governance. We are reaching out and supporting the government and Lagosians in the face of daunting socio-economic circumstances that often beat the government’s official planning, and require extra-governmental measures and intervention from socially responsible organizations and well-meaning individuals.
“NIMASA understands and appreciates that the government as a system cannot function and achieve anything alone. It needs the contribution and support of all to make the society a better place for the citizenry. This is why we want to raise awareness about the dire need to keep Lagos clean, to provoke society’s attention at the levels of government, organizations, and individuals to the need to continually ensure a healthy environment.”
Mrs. Odusanya maintained that the agency had an integrated support system in place, which according to her was in the form of care for the environment– part of the cardinal points of the Agency noting that “this is essentially driven through a nationwide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, implemented from time to time, in line with our enabling appropriations and resources.”
“The NIMASA CSR intervention programmes are spread across the country, and today we are here, and we appreciate the warm welcome from the Management of LAWMA.
“Our CSR programmes are designed based on the need and peculiarity of our people, and it is aimed at affecting society positively. As a Federal Government agency, with the whole country as our prime constituency, we have an unwavering commitment to the social, economic, and environmental life of our people, and this is incorporated into our plans and activities.
“The Agency’s environmental-oriented CSR programmes is a conscious drive, and this consciousness is affirmed in our understanding that a clean environment translates to a clean ocean, which is why supporting proper waste management within the physical environmental ecosystem is part of our policy thrust. This is also in line with the Federal Government’s development priorities and objectives, which focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of global goals designed as a ‘blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable environment for all’.
“Therefore, it is apt to state that this event is a strategic demonstration of NIMASA’s commitment to a better environment for all Nigerians”, she added.
The Director, however, explained that the current Director General of the Agency, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, had carved a niche for himself as a maritime administrator who believed, not only in enforcement, but also promotion of safety and security, peace, and progress in the maritime domain.
According to her, “His three-point agenda of Maritime Safety, Maritime Security, and Shipping Development – also called Tipple S strategy – has been pursued through a multidimensional approach involving networking, sharing experiences, and learning from stakeholders.
“NIMASA recognises that connection with the people plays an essential role in all aspects of development. The Agency, therefore, works with communities and government at different levels to carry out interventions that help in ensuring environmental sustainability. And we hope that you will find these items useful in your drive to sustain the momentum towards ensuring a clean Lagos State to the benefit of the entire Lagosians.”
Responding, the Managing Director of LAWMA, Mr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin who led other top management of the LAWMA to receive the NIMASA, expressed appreciation to the agency for bringing in LAWMA into its CSR programme.
Gbadegesin observed that NIMASA as an agency whose responsibility partly covered environmental management, had shared objectives with the LAWMA particularly in the areas of maintaining the cleanliness of oceans and waterways. He informed that some of the plastic wastes generated on land still find their way into the oceans.
While thanking the management of NIMASA for donating the safety kits, the MD insisted that there was need for more collaborative efforts between NIMASA and LAWMA in line with the initiative to rid the city of wastes.
He however, assured the agency that the items would be deployed optimally for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.
Photo: Mr. Samuel Ajayi, Deputy Director, Internal Audit, NIMASA (third right) presenting some of the safety kits to Mr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, Managing Director, LAWMA, during the visit to LAWMA headquarters in Lagos, Friday.
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