At his appearance before the Senate Committee on Maritime Transport to give an account of the activities of the agency and on issues bordering on budgetary provisions, the Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Bashir Jamoh have been applauded for his due diligence and exemplary leadership at Agency.

The Senate committee meeting which was held at the Eko Hotels and Towers, Victoria Island Lagos, the Senate Committee Acting Chairman, Senator James Manager assured the Director-General of NIMASA and his team of the Committee’s support so long as the Agency continues to fulfill its mandate in line with the law establishing it.

While addressing the distinguished Senators, Dr. Jamoh reeled out the activities of the agency, highlighting the three cardinal aspects of his administration which include; Maritime Safety, Maritime Security, and Shipping Development.

Dr. Jamoh also talked about the ‘carrot and stick’ approach of his agency toward tackling the issue of maritime security in Nigeria’s territorial waters. “For those criminally minded youths, we are now deploying our maritime assets to address maritime security challenges. While also working with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to engage our youths in small scale business of fishing, boat repairs, etc” Jamoh said.

The Director General of NIMASA was accompanied by the Executive Director, Operations, Mallam Shehu Ahmed, the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Rt. Honorable Victor Ochei and the Executive Director, Administration and Finance, Honourable Chudi Offodile.

In line with its statutory duty of oversight functions, the senate committee members took on the Director-General of NIMASA, asked varied questions, and probed into the activities of the agency.

Senator Biodun Olujimi a member of the committee said: “I believe that Dr. Jamoh knows what he is doing and he has a ready explanation for most of the issues that were dealt with.” While Senator Abdullahi Sankara called for other DG’s to learn from Dr. Jamoh because he was explicit in his response

At the end of the session, committee members were of the view that NIMASA gave a good account of its stewardship and commended the DG Dr. Bashir Jamoh for his detailed response to issues raised.