The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has disclosed that there is a need for the Federal Government to establish a strong and sustainable national fleet.
Jamoh made the disclosure while receiving members of the National Fleet Implementation Committee who paid him a courtesy visit at the NIMASA’s headquarters in Lagos on Wednesday.
He told the team led by the committee chairman and Executive Secretary, Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, that the national fleet would help diversify Nigeria’s economy.
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He said, “There is no better time to have a national carrier and develop the maritime industry than now when the world is gradually looking away from fossil fuels, which currently forms the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.
“Nigeria cannot be caught unawares. We need to look at ways of developing our shipping sector, which, from studies, is capable of earning the country even more than oil annually.”
The NIMASA boss said the country must learn from its previous mistakes that ruined the dream of a national fleet.
