Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari saturday congratulated the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, on his election as the Chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administrators (AAMA). Dakuku was elected at the end of the Third Annual Conference of the continental organisation in Abuja on Friday.
The President, according to a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, said Peterside’s unanimous election was not only a personal honour and affirmation of confidence in his ability to lead AAMA but also placed Nigeria in a pivotal position to rally other maritime administrations in collaboration with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) towards safer global maritime activities.
Buhari said given NIMASA’s encouraging performance under the leadership of Peterside especially in the fight against sea piracy through inter-agency cooperation, he had no doubt that his new position would offer him a bigger platform to forge ahead in doing the nation proud by meeting the objectives of AAMA.
While wishing the new Chairman of AAMA a successful one-year tenure, Buhari said he was confident that the federal government’s renewed focus on economic growth through increased maritime resources would be further enhanced within the period.
In another statement by Head, Corporate Affairs, NIMASA, Isichei Osamgbi, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Mr. Bashir Jamoh, addressed a media conference shortly after the event and announced that Peterside would pilot the affairs of AAMA for a period of one year while Egypt would host the next conference, while South Africa would retain the secretariat.
The statement added that Namibia and Seychelles were jostling for the 2019 hosting right which it said could not be confirmed at the time of filing this report. AAMA, a body of 34 African countries including Nigeria, unanimously elected Peterside at the conference jointly organised by NIMASA and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which drew attendance from maritime countries within the African continent and across the globe.
Peterside, takes over from Mr. Sobantu Tilayi, the acting Chief Executive Officer of South African Maritime and Safety Agency (SAMSA), who has been the acting Chair of the association since 2013.
