Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has inaugurated an 18-member joint staff consultative forum to strengthen relationship between management and the workforce.
Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashi Jamoh, made this known in a statement issued by NIMASA’s Assistant Director, Public Relations, Mr Edward Osagie, on Sunday in Lagos.
While inaugurating the forum at NIMASA headquarters in Lagos, Jamoh said that communication between management and staff members was key to moving the maritime industry forward.
The director-general, who was represented by the Director, Administration and Human Resources, Mrs Ronke Thomas, acknowledged the recent achievements in the agency’s core mandates, attributing them to the motivation of the workforce.
He said: “Management is not about us and them. Effective management is the ability to get the best out of the workforce, and this we have always championed since we took the leadership of the agency.
“We want to further give the workforce a voice, which will be another milestone in the history of the agency,” he said.
Stressing the importance of the consultative forum, Jamoh stated that as someone who rose through the ranks and had spent over three decades in the industry, he was aware of the yearnings of the workers.
He pledged to prioritise anything that would grow maritime in Nigeria.
“My experience in this industry is a unique one. Having risen through the rank, I know what the staff members need to be more motivated and the ripple effect of what we are doing will be felt in the entire maritime sector.
“Let me assure you that this management is committed to doing whatever will drive the Nigerian maritime sector to an enviable height,” he said.
The director-general urged the executives of the consultative forum to maintain cordial relationship with the staff members and the management.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that with the forum, all staff matters or grievances are expected to be presented to management in a civil manner, in accordance to the extant laws and the guiding policy.
In his acceptance speech, Chairman of the forum, Mr Abdullahi Yelwa, thanked the director-general and the management team of the agency for the internal communication initiative.
Yelwa said the forum would strengthen the trust the staff had built with the Jamoh-led management.
The forum has Mrs Shielibe Abe as Vice-Chairman, with representatives from all cadres of the agency.
