NIMASA: Dakuku Peterside Repositioned NIMASA To A Global Brand; Deserves Reappointment…..Says Eze

“Peterside’s unanimous election is not only a personal honour and affirmation of confidence in his ability to lead AAMA, but also places Nigeria in a pivotal position to rally other maritime administrations in collaboration with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) towards safer global maritime activities"... President Muhammadu Buhari.

….Dakuku Peterside deserves re-appointment, if merit still count in appointments in this dispensation, Eze insists.

..... Recalls how in 2015, Dakuku was almost assassinated campaigning for the election of President Buhari.

….. says Dakuku is the “future of Nigeria's Maritime venture”.

Supporting President Buhari in his assertion about the ability of Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Donald Trump, the number one President of the world state; "I judge people based on their capability, honesty, and merit".

If merit and capability is to be used as a criteria for appointment as asserted by President Trump, Senator Ahmed Rufai Sani the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport postulated, “what NIMASA is doing under the leadership of Dr. Peterside, is commendable. And, as a Committee, we will give NIMASA the necessary legislative backing in terms of amendments to the existing laws and enhanced appropriation that is necessary for the Agency to effectively carry out its regulatory activities”.

While to Emeritus Professor Dagogo Fubara, the first Professor of Geodesy in Africa, "Your ingenious leadership in the Agency which will galvanize the maritime industry to greatness is very commendable. I do not know what you are doing in NIMASA but whatever you are doing is very commendable. Apart from the fact that you have assembled first grade scholars to talk today, this is the first time in my 78 years sojourn on earth that I have chaired an event and four hours after, the hall is still filled to capacity”.

Representative of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who doled the accolades on Dr. Dakuku Peterside, also described him as “a value-added” to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that the NIMASA, under his watch, has recorded laudable achievements that are countless, to the credit of the administration.

Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has become respected as one of the most fervent defenders of the policies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Buhari administration in the South-South region.

In a statement issued in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Eze reveals positive assessment of Dakuku’s performance by the Kaduna state governor, Mallam Ahmad Nasir El-Rufai, as “a vibrant young man who has brought a lot of reforms to the maritime industry” as spot on.

Eze noted that, “Peterside is a celebrated icon, an enigma, a study in resoluteness, benevolence, audacity, resourcefulness, creativity, a symbol of unity, a visionary, egalitarian and, most importantly, a great patriot whose love for Nigeria and Nigerians is infectious”.

“As a bridge-builder and loyal to friendship, he is an emerging force in the Maritime Industry in the entire world who became the first Nigerian to be elected by 34 countries as the President, Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA)”.

“For turning around the fortunes of the Nigeria’s maritime sector, to increase its contribution to the economy, Dr Dakuku has justified his appointment as Director-General of NIMASA and one of the most skillful and opportune decisions by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in its drive to revolutionize the maritime industry”.

“Since Dakuku’s appointment as Director-General of NIMASA in March 2016, a lot of reforms have been initiated, including the new Cabotage Compliance Strategy, which has created more employment for Nigerians in the maritime sector and significantly, grown the maritime sector’s contribution to both the Federation Account and the Gross Domestic Production (GDP)”.

“Under the watch of this reformer and revolutionist, Dr. Peterside, NIMASA, with its record-breaking income generation into Nigeria’s coffers, received presidential commendation and dusted other similar agencies to top the chart on Port and Flag State Control in the West and Central African sub-regions. The maritime regulatory agency outranked other maritime regulators in the region, in the inspection of vessels calling at Nigerian ports, according to the latest report by the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control for West and Central African Region, otherwise known as Abuja MoU”.

All these were part of the fruits of recent reforms initiated by the agency and deliberate investment in enforcement equipment. The fact remains that the management team of NIMASA is conscious of global best practices and is determined to rid our waterways of all substandard vessels, with the ultimate aim of ensuring a safe and robust maritime domain.

This afforded the agency the capacity to be a competitive player in the global maritime space, giving her an edge in the comity of maritime investment destinations.

Eze commended Dr. Peterside and his team for following the international requirement for countries by inspecting and surveying over 600 vessels calling at Nigerian ports, describing the fear as “an unprecedented feat, showing the country is alive to its port state and flag state responsibilities. The increased inspection and survey has ensured that substandard vessels no longer call at Nigerian ports. It has improved safety on Nigerian waters and led to a reduction of vessels with deficiency from 18.99 % in 2015 to barely 14 % in 2018.

“NIMASA has, since the last three years, engaged in deliberate efforts to protect the country’s maritime assets and environment by building up response capabilities under the Deep Blue Sea project. The Agency has acquired special mission aircraft, special mission telecommunications gadgets, and 17 interceptor special mission vessels. It has also, in conjunction with the country’s security services, set up a Command and Control Centre, with a complement of armoured vehicles to patrol littoral states, and a standing k force to deal with criminal activities at sea”, Eze revealed.

Apart from all these feats, by this enigma of a leader, who would have lost his life while campaigning for his election and that of President Muhammad Buhari in 2015 at Okirika in Rivers state when his Campaign Team was attacked by unidentified persons who never wanted Buhari to emerge the Nigerian President.

Now that his tenure is coming to an end in few days time, based on his sacrifices to the progress of APC all over Nigeria and the ingenuity which he has brought to making NIMASA a global brand and if the words of President Trump is relevant that merit should count in our appointments then reappointing Dr Dakuku Peterside  becomes not only imperative, but immediate.