Four years after it was abruptly withdrawn from the Senate by former President Goodluck Jonathan, water transporters under the aegis of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) Liverpool Branch, have called for the resuscitation of the Maritime Security Agency (MASECA) Bill.
Chairman of the unit, Comrade Owolabi Omotayo in a chat with Shipping Position Daily yesterday also called for a total overhaul of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Four years after it was abruptly withdrawn from the Senate by former President Goodluck Jonathan, water transporters under the aegis of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) Liverpool Branch, have called for the resuscitation of the Maritime Security Agency (MASECA) Bill.
Chairman of the unit, Comrade Owolabi Omotayo in a chat with Shipping Position Daily yesterday also called for a total overhaul of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
It would be recalled that the MASECA Bill had scaled third reading at the House of Representatives and it was about to be passed by the Senate four years ago, when former President Goodluck Jonathan abruptly withdrew it.
Industry watchers had hinted at that time that the Bill was killed to pave way for the maritime security contract that NIMASA eventually awarded to Messrs Global West Vessel Specialist Limited for the supply of platforms for security of Nigerian waterways.
Following reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had recently directed NIMASA to cancel the security contract, the Water Transporter Chairman, Owolabi Omotayo called on the Federal Government to reconsider the MASECA Bill.
Owolabi also called for the creation of a Coast Guard in addition to ensuring that the Nigerian Navy is well equipped to secure offshore and onshore maritime investments.
He said: "In advanced societies, you don't put too much pressure on the navy, the coast guard has to be created, and a special division of the navy has to be created for the maintenance and protection of the maritime investments and domain"
"A special force has to be created out of the Navy to be well equipped and the coast guard had to be there to protect offshore and onshore facilities with their special gunboat, helicopters, jets, drones and other technologies. So I call for the revival of the MASECA bill to look into all of this”.
Speaking on the removal of the Director General of NIMASA, Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi last week by President Muhammadu Buhari, Owolabi said that Akpobokemi's tenure at the apex agency caused a lot of things to go wrong in that agency.
The unionist stressed that there is need for a total overhaul and de-tribalization of NIMASA and added that the security contract which is a threat to the security of the nation has to be revoked.
On Akpobolokemi’s replacement, he said: "The man coming in must ensure transparency and redirect the agency towards attracting foreign maritime investment to the economy, they should discard this present policy of NIMASA which discouraged maritime operators from patronizing our ports and maritime sector"
"Stopping the contract is the right thing to do, from inception the contract is an illegality and a violation of the sovereignty of the Nigerian state, we have security agencies that can handle the security of our maritime investments, they will police, monitor and get rid of saboteuers" Owolabi said.
The MASECA bill seeks to establish a maritime security agency which shall be charged with the responsibility of providing security and safety facility for participants in the maritime industry and associated industry.
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