Another feat by Dakuku Peterside: ISPS CODE IMPLEMENTATION: USCG EXPRESSES SATISFACTION WITH COMPLIANCE LEVEL

…As NIMASA reiterates commitment to best practices

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has expressed satisfaction at the compliance level of Nigeria with the International Ships and Ports Security (ISPS) facility Code at the nation’s ports.

A delegation from the USCG led by Lt. Commander Jacob Hopper of the International Port Security (IPS) Liaison for USCG in West and Central Africa and Europe who were on a two-day visit to some of the ports in Lagos stated that there has been a lot of improvements in the nation’s port as a result of the security architecture put in place.

Speaking further, John Hopper commended the feat achieved by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) which is the Designated Authority (DA) for the code in Nigeria and also noted that he was elated by the level of expertise and knowledge demonstrated by the NIMASA personnel during the visit.

While describing the NIMASA team as very resourceful, he charged the Agency not to rest on its oars in ensuring total compliance to the issues relating to safety and security at the nation’s ports.

Earlier, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside thanked the USCG for their continuous support and noted that the Agency remains committed to the ideals of international best practices in carrying out its mandates.

The NIMASA DG who was represented by the Executive Director, Operations, of the Agency, Engr. Rotimi Fashakin, FNSE also said that the goal of NIMASA is to attain 100 per cent compliance with the ISPS Code and it remains open to all forms of collaboration with Stakeholders both locally and internationally, geared towards making Nigeria a maritime hub in Africa.

“Let me commend your support to us over the years and tell you that it has kept us on our toes, thereby assisting us achieve this feat you have noticed today. We also seek your continuous partnership; because for us in NIMASA, it is work in progress and we remain open to all forms of partnerships that can assist us reach our desired goals” the DG stated.  

He also used the opportunity to inform the team that NIMASA has successfully updated the Global Integrated Ship Information System (GISIS) since 2017, and called for an update by the US Port Security Advisory (PSA) as it still display 2013 information about Nigeria.

It may be recalled that NIMASA was appointed the DA for ISPS Code implementation in Nigeria in May 2013 and has since then left no stone turned in ensuring that the nation’s ports are compliant in line with global best practices, which has earned the Agency several commendations.

ROTIMI AMAECHI AT CHATHAM HOUSE UK, SAYS FG APPROVES INTEGRATED MARITIME SECURITY

---Dakuku assures of zero tolerance to piracy in Gulf of Guinea

The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Honourable Rotimi Amaechi has disclosed that the Federal Government has approved an Integrated National Security Strategy (INSS) for the Nigerian maritime sector. The strategy which will be implemented in collaboration with other countries in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) is aimed to stem the tide of insecurity on the region’s territorial waterways.

Rt. Hon. Amaechi who made this known during a paper presentation titled; “Nigeria’s role in responding to the causes and consequences of maritime insecurity” at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London stated further that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is already implementing a comprehensive maritime strategy in collaboration with other partners in order to enhance the fight against piracy attacks in the region.

Accordingly, he hinted the audience that “In pursuit of this objective, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria visited Malabo in Equatorial Guinea last year, where the two countries signed an agreement on the establishment of combined Maritime Policing and Security Patrol committee to enhance the security of the Gulf of Guinea and help curb maritime crimes like piracy, crude oil theft and smuggling”.

Speaking further, Amaechi noted that NIMASA has established a command and control centre for enhanced situation awareness, response capability, law enforcement and regional cooperation amongst others, all geared towards an enhanced water security and by extension, the entire nation.

The Minister also used the opportunity to assure the international community that the anti-piracy bill which is currently before the national assembly will hopefully be passed before the end of this legislative year.

On his part, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside who delivered a paper at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London titled; “The problem of maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea is real…”, noted that the Agency through collaboration with other relevant government bodies is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring zero tolerance to all forms of piracy and illegalities on the nation’s territorial waterways and the entire Gulf of Guinea.

The DG also noted that the Federal Government of Nigeria has adopted a multi-dimensional interventional approach to tackle the issues relating to piracy namely; legal/legislative approach; through the pushing of the enactment of the anti-piracy law, proper policy framework; through presidential intervention on maritime security to build regional coalition and corporation, regulatory and operational approach; through effective enforcement of port and flagged state control and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Navy and Air Force to increase response capacity amongst others.

Speaking further, he also highlighted four strategic pillars the Agency has adopted for tackling the issue of piracy tagged; “Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy” namely; situational awareness, law enforcement, response capability and regional cooperation all aimed at achieving a virile and robust maritime sector.

Dr. Peterside who is the current Chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) also assured the international community that NIMASA will continue to collaborate with other relevant bodies both locally and internationally in order to realize its vision of a prosperous maritime sector in Nigeria and the West and Central Africa Sub-Region.

While calling for continuous collaboration amongst partners across continents, the NIMASA DG noted that improved profiling and information sharing on maritime criminality and illegality, enhanced maritime domain awareness and surface to air patrol capabilities, functional legal framework, integration of national inter-agency efforts, youth empowerment programmes amongst others are factors that can help bring solutions to the issues surrounding insecurity in the maritime space.

The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, is an independent policy institute based in London with a mission to help build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world.

The institute engages governments, the private sector, civil society and its members in open debates and private discussions about the most significant developments in international affairs. Each year, the institute runs more than 300 private and public events: conferences, workshops and roundtables in London and internationally with partners. The convening power of the institute attracts world leaders and the best analysts in their respective fields from across the globe.

NIGERIA, STRATEGIC TO TACKLING MARITIME CRIMES IN GULF OF GUINEA – DG NIMASA

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside has described the Nigerian maritime sector as strategic to tackling issues of insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

Dr. Peterside, who stated this while presenting a paper titled; “Nigeria’s role in combating maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea” at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London, noted that Nigeria which accounts for 65 per cent of cargo generated and accounts for the largest population within the region is central to the success or otherwise of the fight against piracy in the GoG.

While acknowledging that maritime insecurity has economic, social and environmental implication in the region, the NIMASA DG told the international community that Nigeria is leaving no stone unturned to solve the challenges, which has led it to approaching the menace through a total spectrum maritime strategy which include law enforcement, Regional Cooperation, Response Capability building and enhanced maritime domain awareness for all organs of government responsible for maritime security.

“We in Nigeria have installed satellite surveillance systems, Coastal Radar systems, and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System GMDSS amongst others. The Anti-Piracy bill which is currently undergoing legislative procedures is aimed at criminalizing piracy and all maritime crimes in the country’s maritime domain with attendant punishment enshrined in the Nigerian legal framework.” He said.

The NIMASA DG noted that the implementation of an Integrated National Surveillance and Waterways Protection Solution with command and control infrastructure in the Agency is part of Nigerian government deep blue contract to enhance security in the Gulf of Guinea.

In his words, “The deliverables from the deep blue project are expected to bolster Nigeria’s maritime security architecture and increase monitoring and compliance enforcement within the Nigerian waters and it’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)”. The fact that the Nigerian Navy has stepped up its activities in the Nigerian creeks which has seen the figures of illegal refineries destroyed rise exponentially from 97 in 2015 to over 1221 in 2017”.

Dr. Dakuku also cited global maritime piracy statistics obtained from icc-css, which shows a decline in piracy attacks in Nigerian waters from 445 in 2010 to about 180 in 2017 as an indication that the fight against piracy in Nigeria is headed in the right direction.

Accordingly, the NIMASA DG noted that Nigeria’s intervention has led to the establishments of ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Security Strategy (EIMS), and Inter-Regional Coordination Centre (ICC) in Yaoundé Cameroun and that Nigeria played a leading role in the establishment of African Integrated Maritime Security (AIMS).

Speaking further, he highlighted factors that makes Nigeria strategic in the fight against maritime crimes in the region to include; being the country with the highest number of military contingent and might within the region, huge deposit of oil and gas; thereby making it a place of interest for international energy dynamics, the geo-strategical location of Nigeria and the country with the largest delta areas of the world characterized by thousands of creeks.

On the operational level, he disclosed that NIMASA, through collaboration with the Nigerian Navy in 2012-2013 established “Operation Prosperity”, which has seen to the reduction of criminal activities in the region. “NIMASA on behalf of Nigeria also houses one of the five designated Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (RMRCC)”, he said.  

Dr. Peterside who is the current Chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) called for continuous collaboration amongst partners across continents and proffered that improved profiling and information sharing on maritime criminality and illegality, enhanced maritime domain awareness and surface to air patrol capabilities, functional legal framework, integration of national inter-agency efforts, youth empowerment programmes amongst others are factors that can help bring solutions to the issues surrounding insecurity in the maritime space.

The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, is an independent policy institute based in London with a mission to help build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world.

The institute engages governments, the private sector, civil society and its members in open debates and private discussions about the most significant developments in international affairs. Each year, the institute runs more than 300 private and public events: conferences, workshops and roundtables in London and internationally with partners. The convening power of the institute attracts world leaders and the best analysts in their respective fields from across the globe.

MARITIME IS A SURE SOURCE OF GROWING OUR ECONOMY – AAMA CHAIRMAN

     …As MOWCA Seeks Co-operation with AAMA

The Chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administration, (AAMA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside has stated that the maritime sector is crucial to the growth and development of the African economy.

The AAMA Chairman who stated this when the Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Ambassador Alain Michel Luvambano paid him a courtesy visit in Lagos, said that regional co-operation is required in order to achieve all the goals of the Lome Charter and the African Integrated Maritime (AIM) Strategy, geared towards repositioning the sector in Africa, in order to allow it compete favourably with its counterparts in the other continents.

“Maritime is a sure source of growing our economy and from the highest point of government we are talking about blue economy; it is also our goal to realize the dream of our leaders aimed at the development of the maritime sector in Africa and collaboration is the key to realizing it” the AAMA Chair said.    

Dr. Peterside who is also the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) assured the Secretary General of MOWCA that AAMA on its part will continue to champion the course of revitalizing the African maritime sector through various forms of collaboration and will support MOWCA since both bodies have similar objectives and shared vision of realizing a prosperous Africa through its maritime resources.

Speaking earlier, the Secretary General of MOWCA who was accompanied by the Technical Director of the organisation, Colonel Mariko Mamadou expressed gratitude to the AAMA Chair for the support the organisation has been receiving from the association.

He further stated that MOWCA as an organisation is seeking collaboration with AAMA, stating that both bodies have similar mandates of contributing to the economic growth and the development of the maritime administrations on the African space.

Accordingly, he said, “promotion of the sector is based on performance and Nigeria is seen to be taking the lead in the region, hence the need to co-operate and partner together. Also, every other continent is getting united and it is good for Africa to also get united so that we can be a formidable force to be reckoned with in the comity of maritime nations”.  

AAMA is the umbrella body of heads of maritime administrations in Africa with the sole aim of working together to reposition the maritime sector in Africa in line with global best practices.

The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside who was appointed to Chair the body during the 3^rd AAMA Conference hosted by Nigeria in 2017 has continued to champion the course for the growth and development of the continent through collaboration with relevant international bodies.  

INDIGENOUS SHIPOWNERS MAY GET NNPC, NIMASA NOD TO LIFT CRUDE

… As Dakuku Champions New Trade Terms to Boost Indigenous Shipping

… Kachikwu, Baru Weigh Options

Shipowners and other stakeholders in the maritime sector are on the verge of getting the desired change in trade terms from Free On Board (FOB) to Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) which would enable them to begin to lift Nigeria crude and ultimately boost indigenous capacity.

L-R: Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside during a meeting on change in trade terms from Free On Board (FOB) to Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) in Abuja.

This new encouragement was a fall out from the stakeholders’ engagement on changing Nigeria’s crude oil affreightment trade term from FOI to CIF which was organised by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA) held on Tuesday at the NNPC towers in Abuja.

The Minister of State For Petroleum Dr. Ibe Kachikwu who declared the event open welcomed the development, noting that the issue on this trade term is an aged long challenge that has lingered too far and charged participants to come out with resounding resolutions that would be of National benefit.

The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside who presented a paper titled, The Imperatives of Changing Nigeria’s Crude Oil Affreightment Trade Terms From FOB to CIF pointed out that the Changing landscape of Nigeria’s maritime sector viz-a-viz its security architecture, capacity and other determinants has necessitated the Change now than ever before.

Dakuku stated further that the CIF if implemented will “encourage indigenous fleet expansion, lead to massive job creation for qualified Nigerian Seafarers, create opportunities for mandatory sea time experience for Nigerian cadets and build expertise and competence in international shipping trade”

According to him “Nigeria is one of the major exporters of oil and gas resource in the world, and she averages an output of 1.92 million barrels of crude oil per day so this volume generates huge freight for carriers. Regrettably, Indigenous shipping operators have insignificant share of the freight earned from the carriage of Nigeria’s crude compared to foreign counterparts”. The DG lamented.

Dr. Dakuku also stated that OPEC nations such as Iran, Indonesia, Algeria, Kuwait, Angola, Venezuela, UAE and Libya allow indigenous operators to participate actively in shipment of the crude oil, stating that with the right policies in place Nigeria can build its own capacity and one of this is the change of terms of trade for Nigeria’s benefit.

Also speaking at the event the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Dr. Maikanti Baru stated that the Corporation does not have any reason not to allow Nigerians lift crude that there were conditions which made NNPC opt for the FOB trade. He however noted that the NNPC also sees benefits in the CIF trade term but processes have to be followed which may include transition period before finally opting for the CIF trade term.

Shipowners and major stakeholders who spoke at the engagement lauded the initiative. Barr. Temisan Omatseye a former DG of NIMASA who is also a Ship owner pointed out that there is a lot of benefit in the CIF trade term. He stated further that that it would eliminate crude theft, create employment and ultimately compliment the diversification drive of the Federal Government.

In the same vein, the President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) and Managing Director of Starz Marine Group, Engineer Greg Ogbeifun observed that what is needed to make the great CIF initiative to grow the Nigerian shipping industry and the economy is the needed Government support, which is coming at the right time, when the country wants it most to diversify the economy.

All other stakeholders who spoke at the event including leading members of the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA) and Master Mariners unanimously agreed that the CIF trade term would be more beneficial to the country than the present FOB on which the crude lifting is currently based upon.

Wike’s latest offer on criminals, another smokescreen to cover failure... Dr. Dakuku Peterside

PRESS STATEMENT BY DR. DAKUKU ADOL PETERSIDE

The latest broadcast by Rivers State Governor, Ezebuwon Nyesom Wike, CON, GSSRS in which he named and placed cash ransom on certain 32 verified notorious cultists, kidnappers, terrorists and murderers in 12 local government areas is a mere smokescreen to cover the failure of his regime to protect the people he swore to an oath to protect.

That speech is nothing but an attempt by Wike to massage a people already traumatised, who daily bear the marks of their bruised pride. The agony of this situation is exacerbated by the knowledge that while Rivers burnt and roasted, Wike cared less.  

In his Monday speech, Wike made claims that need further interrogation to actually determine their validity, or, it was an arm of a state propaganda.

The first that needs scrutiny is Wike’s allusion that because he visited the families of the bereaved in Omoku and pledged N200 million ransom on the alleged killers on New Year Day, the chief suspect, Johnson Onyedibia, aka Don Wani, was gunned down.  The fact is that in a state where a sitting governor values the lives of subjects, such calamity would have warranted a visit same day. But it took Wike days and that was after he had been informed that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, was sending the Interior Minister to visit Omoku. So, in the face of this even Wike’s visit to Omoku belies sincere grief for the families.

As always, rather than own up to obvious failure, Gov. Wike made an unsubstantiated allegation against an unnamed “former governor and his ilk”, claiming they had interfered with the state government’s amnesty programme. Lies, no matter how long told, will never cover the truth which in this instance is that Wike’s Amnesty programme was not planned to end insecurity in Rivers State but to offer state cover to designated criminals for purposes known to their patrons. 

In his warped understanding of governance, Wike believes that offering financial baits would turn his page of complicity in this whole saga around. Rivers people cannot be fooled by this display of ineptitude. Wike’s offer of another tranche of cash on criminals is no remediation for the pains, loss and agony caused families.

Leadership is humane. This is an attribute grossly lacking in the man who oversees the once-sought-after Rivers State. How can Wike face families whose breadwinners and loved ones were gruesomely murdered by the criminals to tell them that oil companies, other politicians outside his fold, Federal security agencies were liable for the murder of their loved ones? How can Wike stand against good conscience and the families of the 23 massacred on New Year’s Eve in Omoku, to absolve himself of their death being the state Chief Security Officer of the state? Has Wike bothered to empathize with Egbeda community for the gruesome murder of her mothers, father, sons and daughters a few days back?  The situation in Andoni is no less worrisome. Can Wike in good conscience, absolve himself in the bloodbath that has turned the state into “Rivers of Blood”? Good conscience would not absolve the guilty.

Would he as the Chief Security Officer of the state, with unhindered access to daily security statistics, feign ignorance of black spots and flashpoints in the state he was expected to be governor? 

Wike cannot deny that there existed a functional security architecture the previous Administration had instituted that secured the state and made it inhabitable. Being a key player in that Administration, at least, in its early days, offered him huge access into that structure. But Wike, rather than strengthen it, blew all away in his attempt to erase records of his predecessors. In the face of this, if anybody played bet with the lives of Rivers people, it was Wike.   

Wike’s speech was a warped absolution that presented those persons named as the reason the state had collapsed right in his hands. Nothing can be farther from the truth than that. 

The governor had a lot of grace period to have moved to save the several lives of innocent, law-abiding Rivers people and residents lost to the carnage and orgy of bloodletting imposed on Rivers State by criminals and their sponsors. 

What Wike has done, therefore, amounts to submitting to an admittance that he reneged on his oath of office, and so, had failed Rivers people.

If not, how could it take Wike over 30 months to admit in public that the real governors of Rivers State were criminals? 

Rivers State is already flat. The statistics say so. In its recent listing, a verified agency listed the state as the most miserable state to live in Nigeria at 79.37% rate. With unemployment and underemployment rate at 61.4, the highest in the country, and inflation at 18.01%, the state is already broken. 

The best that Wike can do for the state at the moment, is to end this blame-game and sincerely, for the sake of the state, and for the memory of those whose lives had been brutally ended due to the state’s siddon-look, work with the Federal Government to end this tragedy.

Dakuku Peterside Hails Security Agencies for Killing Rivers Notorious Criminal ...Charges Wike to show political will

The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has expressed gratitude to Nigerian security agencies, particularly the army and State Security Service (SSS) for working together to kill a notorious criminal, Igwedibia Johnson aka Don Waney, who for long terrorized the people of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State.

According to him, “This is a confidence-building step towards restoration of law and order in Rivers State.”

A statement from the Nigeria Army Public Relations department disclosed that Don Waney and two of his accomplices were killed in Enugu while trying to escape after being encircled.

Dr. Peterside, while commending the gallantry of the security men, urged them not to rest on their oars until all criminal elements in Rivers state have been arrested and made to face their days in court.

Said he: “The people of ONELGA have been harassed, traumatized, maimed and killed needlessly. This is a great day for the people and end of the road for those who felt this day would never come. For their sponsors, they should know that there is a consequence for every action and a day of reckoning for all of us.”

The NIMASA boss sympathized with those who have lost their loved ones in ONELGA and called on the Rivers state government to give all the required support to security agencies, while also showing the political will to distance itself from criminal elements.

“This is a good warning to all those who think they can be protected and accommodated by politicians. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword; we must give every support to the security agencies to help them rid our state of these criminals.

“Let me also call on the Governor Wike-led administration to create policies and programmes that will create employment opportunities for the teeming Rivers youth. The government must go beyond brick and mortar and, fashion out ways of getting our youth employed.

“Rivers has huge potentials in agriculture and allied products, I see no reason why the state government has not looked at such opportunities to engage our youth. Governance is not just about building houses and painting roads; human capacity development is also very crucial,” he stressed.

Peterside assured the security agencies that Rivers people will continue to cooperate with them in terms of information, logistics and mutual respect as a way of promoting peace and attracting investors.