The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside has said that it has received approval from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to outsource some structures at the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Centre (NMRDC) located in Kirikiri, Lagos State.
It would be recalled that during his maiden Ministerial tour of the facility a year ago, the Honourable Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi had bemoaned the state of decay of the NMRDC facilities.
Speaking during a World Press Conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Peterside stated that due to budgetary shortcomings, developmental activities on the facility have stalled, even though some changes have been implemented.
According to him, “It is not true that a year down the line, nothing has happened at the NMRDC. We have appointed a Coordinator for the Centre. That is somebody who is dedicated to the affairs of the NMRDC.
“It is pertinent to state here that we inherited limited budget to fix the resource centre. Without a budget, there is little or not much anybody can do. We have taken the first preliminary steps to ensure that the place is clean and well maintained. We may not have upgraded the infrastructures there, but this is down to limited budgetary condition.
“Another step we have taken on the NMRDC is to ensure that it is sufficiently provided and catered for in the 2017 budget. This will enable us to do a complete turnaround of the NMRDC.
“We have also gotten Executive Management approval to outsource some parts of the resource centre. In the days ahead, we will be advertising. We have also gotten the approval of the ICRC to outsource some buildings inside the resource centre.
“In the days ahead, you will see adverts asking interested parties to manage some parts of the resource centre. Once the budget is approved and we go through the procurement process, we will uplift the plight of the NMRDC.”
The complex was built with the Regional Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, and was commissioned in May 27, 2008, by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
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