DG NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh.

Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh has expressed pleasant surprise over Federal Government’s conferment of National Honours as Officer of the Federal Republic OFR, on him.

Jamoh in a tweet on his verified Tweeter handle: @JamohBashir, said he was humbled by the award.

“Words cannot express how humbled I feel to be so considered for National Honours as Officer of the Federal Republic OFR.

“When I began my maritime journey 30 years ago, little did I know that I would be so favoured by the Almighty Allah to rise to the position of the DG of NIMASA”, he said.

He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for considering him qualified for a national honours.

The minister of special duties, Senator George Akume had in letter dated September 19, 2022, communicated the approval of President Buhari for the conferment of OFR national honours award on him.

The minister also disclosed that the official conferment ceremony is scheduled to take place on October 11, 2022 at the International Conference Centre, CBD, Abuja.

Recall that Jamoh was appointed as the DG of NIMASA in March 2020. He had since then taken giant strides that enabled the growth and development of the maritime industry, which include but not limited to overseeing the successful deployment of the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure otherwise known as the Deep Blue Project.

The project has played a major role in achieving a drastic reduction of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea to its barest minimum since 1994 and culminating in Nigeria being removed from the infamous piracy red list by the International Maritime Bureau, IMB.

A hallmark of his tenure as the helm of NIMASA has been his institutionalisation of collaboration among stakeholders, within and outside the country, to achieve major milestones in the sector. One notable example of this has been his institution of the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum/ Shared Awareness and De-confliction (GOG-MCF/SHADE), which has led positive outcomes through information sharing among regional and non-regional military forces, which also led to a more secure maritime space within the Gulf of Guinea region.