Maritime: Nigeria to be the hub in West and Central Africa

Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has stated that the hosting of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) will boost Nigeria’s quest to become a hub of maritime destination for the West and Central African region.Peterside, who stated this in Lagos, recently, noted that the hosting of AAMA, which is currently the biggest maritime event on the continent will assemble all the major operators in Abuja for the duration of the event.He said that it will also bring about interactions, business meetings, exchange of ideas and contacts among the maritime stakeholders across Africa including those from Nigeria. Now, this apart from it being instrumental to the Nigeria’s maritime potential to the maritime community in Africa.“In addition to the maritime administrations that would be attending the event other critical stakeholders such as shipping companies, terminal operators, shipping agents, freight forwarders and other sundry maritime and shipping services providers would also be in attendance and this will bring about exchange of ideas and contacts with the Nigerian stakeholders,” he said.News men were told that 32 countries from all parts of Africa are expected to participate at the continental conference and a number of maritime stakeholder organisations around the world.“The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) delegation will be led by Mr. Kitack Lim the Secretary General of IMO which is a United Nations specialised agency that regulates shipping globally, “he said.He added that the convening of these Maritime Administrators in Nigeria would afford the country the opportunity of improving its economy via the maritime sector as issues such as Ports development and their modernisation, maritime tourism, shipbuilding and repairs will be at the front burner of the discussions.Peterside concluded that interactions among importers, exporters, shipping firms, freight forwarders and even chandelier’s, among several others will ultimately Nigeria will the help the country attain the desired hub port status within the sub-regions and ultimately advance the Nigerian economy.