NIMASA DG, Jamoh is Maritime Public Sector Icon 2021

Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Bashir Jamoh (middle) receiving his nomination letter as the Vanguard Public Sector Icon (Maritime) 2021 from the newspaper’s Editor, Eze Anaba (right) and Saturday Editor, Onochie Anibeze during a visit by the Vanguard editorial team to the NIMASA headquarters

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh has been named winner of the Vanguard Public Sector Icon (Maritime) for 2021.

The Editor of Vanguard newspapers, Mr Eze Anaba  who announced this while presenting a conveyance letter to Jamoh in Lagos, said other awardees are the President of the African Development Bank,  Dr Akinwunmi Adesina; Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), Malam Mele Kyari; and Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, among others.

Anaba explained that the screening committee of the Vanguard Awards reviewed Jamoh’s nomination critically using indices in good corporate governance and concluded that the NIMASA DG is an outstanding public sector official in year 2021.

He noted that the consistency of the Jamoh-led management in growing the capacity for the Nigerian maritime industry, adding that, despite not being a government revenue generating agency, NIMASA management has effectively blocked leakages, but rather increased contributions to the consolidated revenue fund exponentially in 2021, reaching an all-time high of over N37 billion.

On 3^rd March 2022, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)  announced the removal of Nigeria from the global piracy list as a result of sustained decline in piracy activities in Nigerian maritime domain.

During the Marine Protection Committee meeting last week, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation, Kitack Lim  recognised Nigeria for the steady progress in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and commended the collaboration among regional bodies in the quest to achieved improved safety and security of commercial shipping.

Receiving the award notification, Jamoh appreciated the organisers for the recognition noting that it is a call to serve more.

“This recognition coming from a reputable organisation such as Vanguard is a call to serve more. Since March 3^rd when Nigeria was delisted from the global piracy list by the IMB, our new challenge is now is that of sustenance.  We will continue in our collaboration with all relevant stakeholders locally and internationally to ensure a sustainable development of the Nigerian maritime industry”, hee said.