GULF OF GUINEA: CAPACITY BUILDING, SECTORIAL REFORM WILL ENHANCE MARITIME SECURITY
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside yesterday stated that capacity building initiatives and sectorial reforms are critical elements that can address maritime security issues in the Gulf of Guinea.
By Ovie Edomi
Dr. Dakuku made this position known in a paper presented at a G7 high level meeting on maritime security in Rome, Italy. The NIMASA DG argued that despite the security challenges being faced in the region, lots of concerted efforts with Stakeholders and other government Agencies have been put in place to check the menace.
The NIMASA boss who is also the Chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administration, (AAMA), noted that piracy attack in the Gulf of Guinea has reduced tremendously as statistics shows that attacks on Oil and gas installations both onshore and offshore reduced from 36 in the first half of the year 2016 to nil in the corresponding period in 2017.
Dakuku also noted that the Maritime security Architecture in the Gulf of Guinea has Political, strategic, Regional, Multinational and National components which are aimed at enhancing the security in the region. The strategic operational headquarters to coordinate the implementation of the Maritime Security Architecture in the region are located in Abuja Nigeria, Libreville in Gabon, Luanda in Angola, Pointe Noire in Congo and Yaound