The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dayo Mobereola has charged his counterpart at the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Dr Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh to develop public private partnership models suitable to drive growth in the maritime industry.
Mobereola gave the charge while receiving Ewalefoh and members of his management team at the Victoria Island headquarters of NIMASA on Monday.
While appreciating the management of the ICRC for being responsive, the NIMASA DG reiterated the PPP business model as essential for infrastructural development and a catalyst for Nigeria’s blue economy.
Mobereola said: “Investing in the maritime sector is capital intensive and government funds cannot solely put in place the required infrastructure. We need the ICRC to develop PPP-based business models that will be attractive to the private sector both from within and outside the country.
“There is the need to streamline processes by the use of technology, as we will continue to count on the support of ICRC to help drive the Agency’s PPP projects for effective and efficient service delivery to our stakeholders.”
Respondjng, Ewalefoh, underscored the significance of the maritime sector to Nigeria’s economy. He noted that the PPP model would facilitate increased funding and expertise from the private sector, thereby accelerating the growth and development of the Nigerian maritime sector.
R-L: Executive Director Operations, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Engr. Fatai Taiye Adeyemi; Director General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, Dr. Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh; Director General, NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola; Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, NIMASA, Jibril Abba and Executive Director, Finance and Administration, NIMASA, Chudi Offidile during a courtesy visit by the ICRC management to the NIMASA headquarters in Lagos.
He assured that the ICRC was prepared to engage with NIMASA on its projects and ensure timely execution.
“There is no time to waste; our country needs lots of funding for infrastructure and we need to create an enabling environment for activities to thrive. First, is service delivery, not revenue generation, and people will be willing to pay if they get the right services”, the ICRC boss said.
