NIMASA gets permanent office after 30 years

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has finally gotten a permanent office in Abuja, after 30 years of operating the country’s capital city.

The Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo, at the commissioning of the building on Tuesday, challenged the staff to double their productivity as a response to the newly commissioned regional office in Abuja.

The new office, located in the Central Business District of Abuja, was opened by the Minister alongside the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh.

According to Sambo, NIMASA has operated from a rented office ever since, adding that with an improved work environment, the staff should justify the investment by scaling up production.

Sambo went on to say that the “Abuja Zonal Office serves as the nexus point between the NIMASA and the Federal Ministry of Transportation, the National Assembly, and all other relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, as well as critical stakeholders like the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, amongst others.

He said, “The Abuja Zonal Office further oversees the operations of the NIMASA’s Lokoja Safety Base, thereby playing a pivotal role in delivering the Agency’s regulatory responsibilities on safety matters in our inland waterways.

“The Abuja Zonal Office further oversees the operations of the NIMASA’s Lokoja Safety Base, thereby playing a pivotal role in delivering the Agency’s regulatory responsibilities on safety matters in our inland waterways.”

The Director General NIMASA, Dr Bashir Yusuf Jamoh said the facility will reduce the cost of governance as it was no longer convenient for NIMASA to be operating in a rented apartment because of the importance of the regional office.

He said, “This office was established in 1987 and the Abuja office remains a cardinal office that interfaces with other agencies and we don’t have an office environment, so the essence is to ensure that we maintain sanctity in terms of productivity to boost economic growth and development.”