The Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, has emerged winner of Vanguard Public Sector Icon, Maritime, 2021 award.
Mr Edward Osagie, Assistant Director, Public Relations, NIMASA made this known in a statement in Lagos on Wednesday.
The Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr Eze Anaba, who announced this while presenting a conveyance letter to Jamoh in Lagos, said there were other awardees.
Anaba listed them as: President of the African Development Bank (ADB) Akinwunmi Adesina, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo, amongst others.
Anaba noted that the screening committee of the Vanguard Awards reviewed Jamoh’s nomination critically and all indices in good corporate governance pointed at the NIMASA DG as an outstanding public sector official in 2021.
He said the consistency of the Jamoh-led management at NIMASA in growing capacity for the Nigerian maritime industry, despite not being a revenue generating agency was considered.
He added that the NIMASA management under his watch had effectively blocked leakages and increased contributions to the consolidated revenue fund exponentially in 2021.
“He reached an all-time high of over N37 billion naira.
“The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) on March 3 announced the removal of Nigeria from the global Piracy list as a result of sustained decline in piracy activities in Nigerian maritime domain.
“The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Kitack Lim, during the Marine Protection Committee meeting last week recognised Nigeria for the steady progress in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
“They also commended collaboration amongst regional bodies in the quest to achieve improved safety and security of commercial shipping,” he said.
Jamoh appreciated the organisers for the recognition, noting that it was a call to serve more.
“This recognition coming from a reputable organisation such as Vanguard is a call to serve more. Since March 3 when Nigeria was delisted from the global piracy list by the IMB, our new challenge 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,” he said.
