Kunle Kalejaye 17 February 2016, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has reiterated its commitment to ensuring a safe marine environment by tackling the menace of marine litters in the nation’s territorial waters.
Acting Director General of the agency, Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro, made the commitment during a stakeholders’ forum on marine litter management organised in Lagos recently by NIMASA and the United Nations Environmental Programme Global Partnership Action, UNEP-GPA.
The acting director general, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Maritime Labour Services, Mrs. Juliana Gunwa, said that marine litters have become a menace which must be tackled with all seriousness.
He said that this is the reason NIMASA has partnered with UNEP-GPA to tackle the scourge.
Jauro stated that the management of the marine environment remains a critical component of ensuring safe and secure shipping and that NIMASA will continue to implement relevant International Maritime Organisation, IMO, instruments in line with its mandate.
“We must ensure that our marine environment is pollution free, safe and secure for effective navigation,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the President of the Waste Management Society of Nigeria, WAMASON, Prof. Olaide Osinbajo, said that he has observed that the major source of marine litters remains the land-based source although shipping also contributes its own share.
Commending NIMASA for tackling the menace head-on, he advised the agency to collaborate with other federal and state overnment agencies to effectively deal with the scourge.
It would be recalled that NIMASA recently signed an agreement with UNEP-GPA under the co-ordination of Dr. Felicia Mogo, an assistant director in the agency with the aim of developing a mechanism for the implementation of the national action plan on management of marine litters for Nigeria.
