Minister of Transport, Mr. Rootimi Amaechi

More than 10 years after its creation, the Federal Ministry of Transport is yet to include the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety NIMASA as well as the Maritime Academy of Nigeria MAN, located in Oron, Akwa Ibom State in its official website, investigations have shown.

NIMASA was created in 2007 following the enactment of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act 17 2007 by the National Assembly.

Ironically, the Ministry still retains the defunct National Maritime Authority NMA and the National Clearing and Forwarding Agency NACFA, more than 10 years after they were scrapped, an indication that the Ministry has not updated its website in the last 10 years

Recall that while NIMASA was created in 2007 following the merger of the defunct NMA, Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council JOMALIC and the Government Inspectorate of Shipping GIS, NACFA was scrapped following its privatisation in 2006, which led to its transfer to private operators.

Stakeholders are however curious as to why the Ministry’s website, which has the photographs and profiles of the current Minister, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of State, Mr. Hadi Sirika, appointed about two years ago should not have NIMASA and MAN Oron, despite the strategic roles played by the two agencies in the maritime industry.

NIMASA, which remitted a whopping N21.8billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government over a period of 13 months, remains a crucial agency in the maritime industry, being the nation’s Maritime Administration, charged with the responsibility of developing the shipping industry, build capacity and carry out port and flag state regulations, among several others.

Similarly, the stakeholders are also of the view that the MAN Oron, established more than 30 years ago and being the only maritime training institution owned by the Federal Government until the recent establishment of the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko is too strategic to be ignored or omitted on the website of its supervising ministry.

Efforts to reach the Ministry’s Assistant Director in charge of Press, Mrs. Yetunde Sohaike proved abortive as her mobile phone line was switched off.