…As Navy, NEXIM eyes partnership on Inland waterways, others***
A grapevine report has indicated that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi may be meticulously shopping in the Southeast, for a new Managing Director, to head the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), as a replacement for Olorunnibe Mamora, now a Minister of State, in the Ministry of Health.
The grapevine has however depressed a cross section of Yoruba people in Lagos, who knowing that the Yoruba never enjoyed a portion in Amaechi manifestation, besides the fact that even Mamora only managed to sneak into NIWA, under Amaechi by accident, said they were waiting for Amaechi to announce his South eastern new-found.
“The last Yoruba man in the Transportation Ministry was Dosunmu”, one industry watcher, Samuel Egbewole told the Maritime First, stressing that he was always ill-at-ease, with the preponderance of the Yoruba tilt, in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), despite the fact that the gains or returns had never justified the massive support.
Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora
“Dosunmu was the last man standing. After Dosunmu, there had been no Yoruba that was good enough, in the Maritime industry”, Mr. Egbewole pointed out, noting that though detribalized as he was, he had suddenly, in view of the reality on ground, began to the need to talk out too.
Speaking in the same vein, an importer who preferred to speak on conditions of anonymity said he could not fathom what the Yoruba people were wasting their time in the APC for, adding that at the right time, these are some of the question, that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu would made to answer, at the right time.
Also read: NIWA, LAGOS ends acrimonious coexistence, signs MoU of progress
It would be recalled that Senator Mamora though got into NIWA by accident, he unwittingly showed class in his style of transparent administration, changing the fortunes of the inland waterways, within a space of only nine months.
Dr. Dosunmu
In the meantime, the Nigerian Export–Import Bank (NEXIM) has solicited partnership with the Nigerian Navy towards facilitating the regional Sealink Project, internal waterways operation and coastal trade.
Navy Director of Information, Commodore Suleman Dahun who disclosed this on Sunday in Abuja, also noted that Mr. Abba Bello, the Managing Director of NEXIM sought for this during a visit to the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas in Abuja.
He said Bello identified the areas of support and cooperation to include involvement of the Navy Hydrography Department (NHD) in the proposed survey of the lower Rivers Niger and Benue with the submission of data collected to the NHD for chart publishing.
Dahun said other areas Bello identified were provision of security support for safe navigation along the trade routes/channels, the use of the Naval Dockyard Limited for servicing/repairs of Sealink vessels and design and construction of barges.
“The partnership would also include recruitment of retired naval personnel,” he said.
Ibas, in his response, underscored the commitment of the Nigerian Navy to the security of the nation’s waterways following the establishment of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) LUGARD at Lokoja and Naval Outposts at Onitsha and Idah.
The CNS also mentioned the prospects for the establishment of other Nigerian Navy outposts along the nation’s major inland waters, particularly at Oguta and Shagunu in Imo and Niger states respectively.
Ibas recalled the existing Nigerian Navy’s collaboration with other agencies of government.
They included the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
He advocated the articulation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Nigerian Navy and NEXIM/NIWA towards the proposed collaboration on the Regional Sealink Project.
The CNS expressed the expectation that an appropriate Environmental Impact Assessment of the Regional Sealink Project had been done considering the heavily silted waterways across the nation.
Ibas reassured Bello of Nigerian Navy’s capacity to support the project in the areas of production of appropriate navigational charts for the nation’s inland waterways and support in the dredging operations.
Other areas are in the provision of necessary security to cover the entire project and construction of barges for inland waterways movement at the Naval Dockyard Limited and Naval Shipyard Limited.
The Regional Sealink Project is an initiative by NEXIM on the prompting of Organised Private Sector (OPS) adding that Sealink is currently being officially promoted by NEXIM.
“The project is essentially designed to bridge maritime transport infrastructure gap amongst ECOWAS and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) member states as well as promote inland waterways operations.
“The project will also facilitate intra-regional trade and reduction of non-tariff measures, regional integration/reduction in logistics cost and promotion of inland waterways.
“Also intra-coastal trade especially in facilitating movement of bulk commodities, for example solid minerals,” Dahun said.
Dahun said the Sealink Project had been endorsed and adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission as one of its priority projects under the ECOWAS Community Development Programmes.
He said the Sealink Project was also co-opted into the Nigerian Fleet Implementation Committee.
