To ensure Nigeria’s re-election into Category C of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council seat, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Geofrey Onyema have called on all heads of foreign missions to support the country’s quest.

Nigeria seeks a return through election to the IMO Council, one of the highest decision making bodies of the international maritime body. IMO isan arm of the United Nations responsible for global maritime regulation,

According to a press statement signed by Isichei Osamgbi, Head of Corporate Communications at the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),Onyema noted that, as a key player in the global maritime industry, Nigeria had played active leadership roles in ensuring the development of the sector not only within the country but also in the entire West and Central African sub-region.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, who spoke in Abuja on Sunday at a cocktail dinner in honour of the foreign missions, organised jointly by the Federal Ministries of Transportation and that of Foreign Affairs,assured the global maritime community of Nigeria’s readiness to ensure optimum performance through curbing piracy, preventing marine pollution, re-invigoration of its ports and capacity building.

“I wish to inform you that we have enacted proactive policies that conform to global best practices in the maritime sector. Specifically through NIMASA, we have domesticated a number of IMO maritime safety conventions with a view to ensuring maritime safety and security, not only in our domain but in the entire West and Central African sub region,” Onyema said.

On his part, Amaechi said that Nigeria had taken a lead role in African maritime sector, adding that the Regional Search and Rescue Coordination Centre in Lagos, coordinates Search and Rescue activities in Nigeria and the African sub-region, which comprises Togo, Benin Republic, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea as well as Sao Tome and Principe.

He added that the Federal Government had approved the establishment of an integrated national surveillance and waterways infrastructure protection which would ensure security in the Nigerian maritime domain.

According to the statement, “To corroborate the Ministers’ stance, the Director General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside said that Nigeria occupies a special position in the African maritime sector based on the length of its coastline and the attendant volume of trade.

“Nigeria has a coastline of over 850 kilometres, and 65 percent of the cargoes heading to Africa would end up in Nigeria. We are the first country in Africa to enact a Coastal and Inland Trade Law (Cabotage Law) and we are likely going to be the first to enact and an Anti-piracy Bill, and so we are committed to taking shipping to the next level.”

The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Harry Purwento, and his counterpart from Syria, Mohammed Abo Serriah commended Nigeria’s achievements in recent times and pledged support towards its election into IMO Council. Both countries pledged to canvass for votes for Nigeria having acknowledged its strides in the African maritime sector.

Election into the Category C of the IMO Council is coming up later this year. Nigeria lost the seat in 2011 but unprecedented improvements have been made in the past two years which puts the country in a stead to clinch the seat.