As the countdown to another International Maritime Organization, IMO, election begins, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has reportedly given a marching order to Marine and Blue Economy Minister, Adegboyega Oyetola, to leave no stone unturned in returning Nigeria to category ” C” of the global maritime body. Usually dependable sources at the Presidency confirmed this development exclusively to Shipping World Magazine weekend . The source who preferred anonymity told our correspondent that worried by serial failure of Nigeria over the last decade, President Tinubu has warned that failure to secure the coveted Category ” C” seat would not be an option for the Nigerian Government in the November election. But Stakeholders who spoke to Shipping World Magazine weekend reasoned that the Presidential order may appear a very tall order to achieve. This, according to them,is because the critical red flags which the IMO raised in its 2014 audit of Nigeria’s Maritime Administration remain largely unaddressed.
Our Correspondent gathered that for instance, the last time Nigeria submitted its Independent Evaluation ( IE) to the IMO under the STCW Convention 1978, as amended, was in 2009.The cycle of IE was due in 2014. Our source further revealed that Nigeria is behind its STCW obligation by 10 years and still counting. Our investigations revealed that the implications of this development is that Nigeria stands the risk of being delisted from the IMO White List which is a register of compliant Member States of IMO on the STCW . The disadvantage of Nigeria not on the IMO White List , according to experts, means that Nigerian trained Seafarers are unlikely to be employed on foreign going vessels as it will negatively affect the quality of Seafarers trained in Nigerian. Asked a master Mariner who craved for anonymity: ” How could Nigeria be gearing up to contest the Council Membership in November whereas Nigeria is deficient in its core responsibilities under the STCW Convention 1978, as amended? This may be another embarrassing contest by Nigeria having failed consistently since 2011 due to unserious, poor quality representation at the IMO and lack of strategic preparation for such an important engagement”, he concluded.
Shipping World has on good authority that Nigeria’s Alternate Permanent Representation (APR),at the IMO, Mr Williams Bwala, has been in constant engagement with officials in the global Maritime body to sell Nigeria’s candidacy. Only a forthright ago, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Chief Adegboyega Oyetola, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, and some Principal officers of the Ministry where in Spain as a pressure group to make a case for Nigeria’s return to category C of the IMO Council. A Shipowner who made a scathing comment about the trip, describing it as wild goose chase and a waste of tax payers money. Said: ” Why waste your energy and resources on APRs who do not even have a voting right, when back home we have about 25 members of MOWCA who will be too glad to support our bid once they are convinced that we have complied with the IMO check list”, he said . Shipping World learned that Mobereola has convened a meeting of Stakeholders this week in Lagos once he returns on Tuesday after his foreign trip. The Stakeholders engagement is aimed at exploring how best to tackle the challenges which lay ahead as Nigeria takes another shot at the IMO Council seat. The last time Nigeria won a place in Category C was in 2009 during the tenure of Mrs. Dezianl Allison Maduekwe as Transportation Minister, and Dr Ade Dosunmu as Director General .