The Nigerian Navy (NN) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) are to reinforce maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, training, hydrography, intelligence and information sharing as well as facility sharing.
The chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral I.E Ibas, who disclosed this on Wednesday at the signing ceremony of MOU between NN and NIMASA, noted that the last MOU signed in 2007 record modest achievements at enhancing the safety and security of the Nation’s maritime environment.
According to him, notable among the achievements are establishment of the maritime Guard Command, successful conduct of the intervention, anti-piracy operation prosperity in the Republic of Benin between August 2011 and March 2014 as well as information sharing.
He said to consolidate on these gains and address emerging areas of collaboration, in joint committee was convened in June 2016 to review the 2017 MOU.
While, the purpose of this ceremony is to consummate the reviewed MOU. The new MOU reinforces the key areas of collaboration VIZ maritime law enforcement, search and rescue training, hydrography, intelligence and information sharing as well as facility sharing.
The CNS said that there is also a standing operation Review Committee whose composition and schedule are more explicitly stated as the new MOU is also more forth coming in the areas of funding the implementation of the MOU. It is hoped that much more gains will be recorded under the reviewed MOU.
Ibas added that NN and NIMASA are two organizations of government with important roles in the safety and security of the maritime space that is critical to Nigeria’s national interest. It is in a realisation of this critical roles that the two organizations identified the need for collaboration, while the first MOU between the NN and NIMASA was signed on 12 April, 2007 about ten years ago.
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