The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS); Vice-Admiral Ibok Ekwe-Ibas has assured the people of Lagos of safety amidst attacks on the Nigerian waterways.
He gave the assurance at the commencement of the Sixth African Security Conference in Lagos, on Tuesday.
Ekwe-Ibas, who was represented by Rear Admiral Jonathan Ango, also acknowledged the fears of fishermen to operate on the waterways.
He said the navy was working toward providing a sophisticated coastal surveillance to protect the waterways and manage the consumption of fuel by the vessels.
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS); Vice-Admiral Ibok Ekwe-Ibas has assured the people of Lagos of safety amidst attacks on the Nigerian waterways.
He gave the assurance at the commencement of the Sixth African Security Conference in Lagos, on Tuesday.
Ekwe-Ibas, who was represented by Rear Admiral Jonathan Ango, also acknowledged the fears of fishermen to operate on the waterways.
He said the navy was working toward providing a sophisticated coastal surveillance to protect the waterways and manage the consumption of fuel by the vessels.
According to him, “when we make our budget, fuelling takes three quarter but we assure that there is a major project to protect the waterways apart from the RMAC project which is satellite-based.
“It is the Falcon 1 project which will provide coastal coverage with radars and cameras to enable us to monitor all activities on the waterways.
“This will limit our patrol and consumption of fuel. The vessel can be stationed at a strategic point where patrols will be immediately deployed whenever there is a distress call.
According to him, the Falcon 1 project will also make it easy to track back illegal operations of vessels.
The CNS added that the navy was also building its reserve capability to tackle the issue of fuel shortage.
“The vessel moves around with the fuel carrying vessel to avoid coming back to refuel which will also help manage consumption,’’ he said.
He said the navy had been able to collaborate and operate on some neighbouring country’s waterways through ECOWAS mechanism while working toward protocols to operate on Cameroon waters.
He further said that the navy was also enhancing its intelligence gathering from the land so as to counter the activities of the pirates.
Meanwhile, theCNS has also urged officers and ratings to continue in the fight against oil theft on Nigeria’s waterways.
Vice Admiral Ibas said this while addressing officers and ratings during his familiarization tour at the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Quorra in Apapa, Lagos Southern Nigeria.
He warned officers to stay away from any form of illegal operation.
He said: ” I will not involve myself in any illegal act and I will not tolerate it. Nobody will or should use my name to perpetrate any illegal operation.
The nation is losing a lot through illegal activities and we must stop it,” he said.
The Vice Admiral also advised the officers to disengage themselves from every illegal group, warning that anyone caught would be punished accordingly.
Ibas pointed out that it was the responsibility of the navy to protect the country through the water ways, stressing that any breach in this responsibility was a sign of betrayal of the country’s trust on the navy.
“Laxity of the past will no longer be tolerated, the navy must live up to its constitutional responsibility,” he stressed.
While commending the officers and ratings for their commitment and sacrifices in spite of challenging circumstances, the naval boss also urged the officers to change their attitude in the way they use government properties.
He enjoined officers to maintain government properties, adding that 50 per cent of naval ships were currently in bad conditions due to careless use.
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