NIMASA To Sanction Forged Certificate Holders

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has announced  that it would soon begin to sanction holders of forged certificate of competence for seafarers.

This, it said, was necessary in view of the huge expenses in monetary terms on Nigerians who were training overseas as seafarers

P.M.Maritime reported early this year the proliferation of fake certificate of competence in circulation in Nigeria. The report said then that more than half of those who were carrying certificates of competence obtained them through the back door, the fact which the agency promised to investigate.

The agency said in Warri, Delta State recently that it had spent N1.16 billion on 75 young Nigerians who were undergoing seafaring training  in different parts of the world.

The Director General of NIMASA, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi said recently during the World Seafarers Day celebration that the agency had concluded plans to acquire an electronic polling system with a view to getting Nigerian seafarers registered, verified and placed on board vessels any where in the world.

Akpobolokemi who was represented by the Director of Maritime Labour services, Alhaji Isa Baba said that most of the cadets  on overseas training were about to complete their programmes in various areas of nautical sciences.

He stated that the seafarers’ day was  aimed at highlighting the problems and the challenges facing the world’s seafarers who contributed more than 80 per cent to world trade.

“So we want to highlight the contribution of these people to the world  in order to appreciate their contribution to  the development of trade and commerce worldwide,” he added .

On the move to fill the 250, 000 vacancies expected to   be available by the year 2015, the NIMASA boss explained that Nigerians do not  have to look  for jobs outside the shores of the country as the vacancies available in the coastal trade are enough to accommodate qualified local seafarers.

“If you even restrict yourself to the Nigerian coastal trade otherwise known as Cabotage, we have over 50,000 jobs and because of lack of capacity, most of these jobs are being taken by the foreigners.

“NIMASA as an agency have started the development of seafaring, we have commenced the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) where each state of the Federation is expected to participate by sending 25 young Nigerians from the states on a yearly basis.

NIMASA pays 40 per cent of the cost while the states concerned make counterpart payment of 60 per cent.

On the few number of institutions offering maritime studies in the country, he said   the agency would soon go   into partnership with the Federal University of Technology Minna Niger state, Niger-Delta University, River State University of Technology in order  to train more seafarers over a period of time.

 —Esther Komolafe