Headlines

Security expert spurns Deep Blue Project as incapable of ending piracy in Nigeria

—-claims unemployed NIMASA seafarers graduates fuel sea rage

Eyewitness reporter

A maritime anti-piracy security expert and Master Mariner, Captain Alfred Oniyi, had declared that the much-celebrated deep blue project may not end the pirate scourge on Nigeria’s waters as was widely believed.

Captain Oniyi, who is the General Secretary of the Merchant Seafarers Association of Nigeria, did not apparently share the infectious enthusiasm and belief of stakeholders that the multi-billion dollars assets of the deep blue project, recently deployed, could end piracy in Nigeria.

Speaking in Lagos, the Master Mariner believed that as long as the thousands of Seafarers who were trained under the National Seafarers Development Programme ( NSDP) of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) remained unemployed, the issue of piracy will continue to linger.

He claimed that NIMASA only succeeded in training professional sea pirates by refusing to provide job opportunities for certified seafarers.

“Piracy and insecurity on our waters are created by NIMASA themselves.

” When you train professionals and you don’t give them jobs, you have tactically trained sea pirates. Every trained and certified seafarer is a potential sea pirate.

“Being a seafarer is a professional job. It is either you use your skill illegally or legally. I don’t see the Deep Blue Assets as the solution to the problem on the ground.

sea pirates

“NIMASA is supposed to first look at the causes of insecurity in the system. But they are not looking at the causes and they want to solve problems.

“We all know that unemployment is a major reason why we have an increase in insecurity in the maritime system.

“Instead of you creating jobs, you are using the money to invest in one Deep Blue Project, buying fighter jets and you think it will work?

.”You are only going to use the equipment to fight the unemployed seafarers that you turned to sea pirates because you made them unemployed,” Captain Oniye said.

Reacting to the high level of professionalism displayed by sea pirates on Nigerian waters, Oniye said only trained pirates can have the impetus to successfully track and hijack a vessel and its entire crew without being apprehended.

He said many of the pirates are unemployed seafarers who are only trying to survive and make ends meet from the pathetic situation NIMASA has pushed them into.“NIMASA said they have trained close to 3,000 seafarers and they cannot even boast of giving 500 out of them jobs outside the country.

” The question is where are the remaining 2,500 seafarers and what are they doing?

” When you look at the way pirate operations are being carried out on our sea, then you will know that these guys are professionals to the core.

” They carry out their operations in a very professional way. Look at the way they operate. They don’t kill their victims. They kidnap them, you pay them and they release their victims. It is called survival.“How can you fight someone who knows how to track a ship? Someone who knows how to go underwater and burst pipes, someone who knows your vessel position.

“Is that the person you want to use your fighter jet to fight? I don’t see the solution being provided by NIMASA as the ultimate solution to the problem on the ground.

” Let them create jobs for unemployed seafarers and you will see if the insecurity will not reduce” Oniye noted.

As a better panacea to fighting piracy, the security expert however charged NIMASA to create job opportunities for certified seafarers and create enabling environments in the country for foreign shipbuilding companies in order to make the Cabotage Act work effectively.

“Use the money you are spending on these assets to create jobs for seafarers. The Cabotage Act says vessels must be built in the country, manned, owned, and crewed by Nigerians.

“NIMASA should create an enabling environment for these foreign companies to come to Nigeria and start building vessels.

” Even the Nigeria-owned vessels are not even getting jobs because foreign vessels are taking over their jobs” Oniye declared.

Headlines

House of Reps gives NIMASA green light to disburse CVFF –appoints audit firm to coordinate, monitor disbursement

Hon. Legor Idagbo

The eyewitness reporter

The House of Representatives has given the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) a clean bill of health over the controversial Cabotage Vessels Financing Funds(CVFF) and consequently directed the agency to disburse the funds.

It would be recalled that the lawmakers, a few weeks ago, halted the planned disbursement after long and painstaking groundwork made by the Ministry of Transportation and NIMASA towards the disbursement process.

The House had raised concerns over the funds, said to be about #700m, and decided to ask its committee on Nigerian Contents Development and Monitoring to investigate the funds.

This followed a motion during its sitting last month on the matter and subsequently directed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to stop the planned disbursement of the fund.

However, after concluding its investigation, the House found tenable the need to disburse the funds to the eligible indigenous ship owners.

Addressing journalists in Abuja Thursday, the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Legor Idagbo said that its investigations indicated that due process was followed, informing that the disbursement can now be made.

“The House of Representatives at its sitting on Tuesday, 4 May 2023, deliberated on a motion on the Planned Disbursement of $700 Million Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund, and investigate the Total Accrual of the Fund, and referred same to the House Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring to, amongst other resolutions, investigate and urge the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to immediately stop the planned disbursement of $700 million to Nigerian citizens and companies and to lay before the floor of the House, an audited statement of account showing all monies that have accrued to the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund not later than fourteen (14) days from the date of this resolution.

“The Committee requested the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and the Ministry of Transportation to provide detailed information on the total amount accrued to the Fund and disbursements since inception.

“The Committee met with the Minister of Transportation and the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ({NIMASA) on Thursday, 11 May 2023 to find out about the details concerning the matter.

” After a thorough analysis of the various submissions on the matter coupled with the explanations given by the Ministry and NIMASA, the Committee discovered that due process was followed in the planned disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund.

“The Committee notes that the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) is a fund that was set up in 2003 by the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act.

” The Fund was established for the purpose of developing indigenous ship acquisition capacity, and to provide financial assistance to indigenous shipping operators.

“The Committee further notes that there is a lack of Capacity amongst indigenous/ Domestic Coastal operators in Nigeria, thus the reason Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) still awards contracts to foreign shipping Companies in contravention of the Cabotage and Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.

“Some of these awards have been previously investigated by the Committee which led to their cancellation.

“It was also discovered that the total funds of $360m in the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) represents 50%, while the remaining counterpart funds of 50% is from stakeholders and Banks which is 15% and 35% respectively.

“NIMASA should go ahead with the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) in compliance with the extant laws and laid down guidelines for the said disbursement.

“To ensure the disbursement does not violate any of the extant laws made by the National Assembly, the following persons were nominated to supervise the disbursement process:
“Rt. Hon. (Barr.) Legor Idagbo – Chairman ii. Hon. Henry Nwawuba – Member iii. | Mrs. Kehinde Bolade Olaiya – Committee Clerk.

“An Audit firm, Stratford Hill and Co. was appointed by the committee as the coordinating enforcement auditor for the CVFF.

“The Committee applauds NNPC for its commitment to awarding the shipping contracts to indigenous companies that have built capacity to the level where they can successfully execute these contracts.

“The Committee is grateful to the leadership of the House for the confidence bestowed on it to carry out the investigation”.

Headlines

President Tinubu appoints Gbajabiamila Chief of Staff

Gbajabiamila , Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as his Chief of Staff.

An authoritative source in the Presidency confirmed the development on Thursday.

The source said the president finally made the decision after wide consultations on the contending candidates.

Gbajabiamila has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2012 and has just been re-elected to the House in the last elections.

The choice of Gbajabiamila by the president is not a surprise to many political pundits as he has been a very close ally to the president.

They are part of the brains behind the formation of the All-Progressives Party (APC).

He will now have to forgo his seat in the House of Representatives if he accepts the appointment.

Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila CFR, is a Nigerian lawyer and foundation member of the APC.

He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2019.

Gbajabiamila was born in Lagos in 1962 and attended Igbobi College for his secondary education and the University of Lagos as part of his education.

He is married to Salamatu Gbajabiamila.

Headlines

Maritime media, NUJ mourn as Ray Ugochukwu passes on to glory

Ray Ugochukwu

The eyewitness reporter

The media confraternity of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council and the maritime media, was thrown into a deep shock and mourning Thursday at the sudden demise of Mr Ray Ugochukwu, a crack journalist of international repute.

The entire members of the NUJ and the maritime media, his immediate constituency, received the news of his death, which was broken by Mr Leye Ajayi, the Chairman of the NUJ Lagos council, in a terse message posted on the council’s WhatsApp platform, with mixed emotion of sadness, shock and disbelief.

Shell-shocked, most colleagues of the deceased, who thought the announcement was a joke taken too far, make frantic calls to the NUJ council officials who confirmed the unfortunate incident.

As the rude reality of the death of the erudite maritime journalist sank in, many of them paid glowing tributes to the man widely regarded as the encyclopedia of the maritime press and a repository of wise sayings.

In its statement on the death of Mr Ugochukwu, Leye Ajayi eulogised the huge reportorial qualities of the deceased who has practised journalism for over 30 years

“With heavy hearts, we mourn the death of a media giant, a versatile Unionist and a brilliant journalist, Mr Ray Ugochukwu who passed on on Thursday.

“The death of Ray came as a big shock to the union.

“We are going to miss his courageous attributes and mentorship.

“He was also one of the pillars of the Lagos Council of NUJ and served the union meritoriously in his capacities as the Chairman of, the Seminar Committee; and as a Member, the Committee on Milestone Recognition of Media Icons In Nigeria.

“He spent most of his life in ensuring the advancement of Maritime Reporting as well as the welfare of Journalists.

“He worked in several media houses.

“Among his giant strides, he was a former President of the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN); President, Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN); and a former Chairman of the Daily Times Chapel of NUJ.

“The legacies of Ray are indelible and will exist forever.

“May God grant his soul eternal rest” the Lagos NUJ said in a statement signed by Leye Ajayi, the Council Chairman and Tunde Olalere, the Council Secretary.