Dakuku in NIMASA: Echoes of good things to come

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, PhD, within about two years in office, has made Rivers State proud by his widely acclaimed outstanding performance in all areas of encounter. Below are some of the bright spots where he has written his name in gold:

● 1,000 youths (hundreds of Rivers youths inclusive) were recently lifted out of unemployment by being trained and engaged by NIMASA as Search and Rescue Marshals.

● Cadets were sent to the Philippines and other countries for training under the umbrella of the Nigerian Seafarer Development Programme, NSDP. So far, 1045 beneficiaries of the NSDP project have graduated representing 42% of the over 2500 NIMASA sponsored beneficiaries.

● NIMASA, under Dakuku has fully implemented the 2003 Cabotage Act, thereby creating direct positive impact on the economy in terms of employment generation.

● According to information obtained from ICC-CSS, there has been a remarkable decline of piracy in Nigerian waters, from 445 in 2010 to about 180 in 2017.

● President Muhammadu Buhari, on 27th April, 2017, commended NIMASA’s encouraging performance under Dakuku, especially in the fight against sea piracy through inter-agency cooperation.

● The International Maritime Organisation, IMO, through its Secretary General, Mr. Kitack Lim, during the 4th Regional Technical Search and Rescue Committee meeting in Lagos, commended NIMASA under Dakuku for its systematic and well laid-down procedures which the Agency has put in place to respond to emergencies that may occur at sea, especially in the Gulf of Guinea.

● Despite being more of a regulatory than revenue generating agency, NIMASA under Dakuku, remitted over $62.297m to the Federation Account in 21 months to support the implementation of the nation’s annual budget.

● During a workshop in Abuja on compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, stated that NIMASA under Dakuku has generated more money by half year than it did in the two preceding years and has proven that financial prudence, accountability and transparency can lead to sustainable economic growth in Nigeria.

● The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ahmed Idris noted that despite the general downturn in accruable revenue to Government due to prevailing global economic situation, the remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) by NIMASA in 2017, was the highest by the Agency when compared to corresponding period of recent years.

● The Federal House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, led by its Chairman, Mohammed Umaru Bago, recently commended NIMASA for its 2017 budget implementation and for repositioning the maritime sector in the country.

● The first ever Maritime Industry Forecast in the country which was unveiled by Dakuku on 27th Febuary, 2018, shows that the Nigerian maritime sector is projected to grow by 2.5 – 5 % within the period of 2018-2019 and a projected increase in demand for maritime services during the period in view.

● Dakuku Peterside is currently the first Nigerian-born Chairman of the African Maritime Administrators Association, AMAA.

Like they say, the reward for good work is more work. I dare say that Dakuku’s excellent delivery in NIMASA, signifies echoes of good things to come.

#DakukuDakuku
#ExcellencePersonified
#EchoesOfGoodThingsToCome

Tonye Iboroma writes from Bakana, Degema LGA, Rivers State