By Adeniyi Onifade
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has launched an electronic registration platform for maritime labour and issuance of biometric identity cards to dockworkers.
The agency’s Director General, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who presided over the event recently in Lagos, described the e-platform as a major step towards attaining full automation of all its processes.
Jamoh added that the latest automation drive was conceived out of the need to establish an independent, robust, integrated information, verification and communication platform that would serve as a system database generation on maritime labour in Nigeria.
Represented by the Agency’s Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Engr. Victor Ochei, the NIMASA boss noted that the development of automation processes would benefit the industry both in terms of time-saving thereby improving on service delivery, as well as in the area of building capacity of the maritime labour workforce in the country.
Jamoh said: “I am particularly delighted about the prospect of eliminating the time consuming process of seafarers and employers registration which is what the e-platform would provide. It is further expected that the e-platform would promote a seamless registration process that would bring about will culminate with the issuance of biometric identity cards to seafarers and dockworkers.”
He added that NIMASA remained committed to building up the capacity of Nigerian seafarers and dockworkers in order to improve on the standing of the country’s maritime sector performance among the comity of maritime nations.
“I wish to reiterate the agency’s commitment towards actualising its mandate as provided in the enabling Act. Our resolve to make life meaningful to the entire maritime labour remains firm and we intend to achieve this through sustainable efforts in capacity building and improved welfare. The agency is also prioritizing the training of Nigerian seafarers to meet industry needs with emphasis on specialized and advanced trainings,” he stated.
Also speaking at the event, President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, expressed his delight with the automation of maritime labour registration processes as a step in the right direction, both for the government and for all workers across different categories in the nation’s maritime industry.
NIMASA, under the leadership of Jamoh, has been devising different initiatives in recent times to improve worker’s welfare and the entire operational efficiency of the Agency.
In a related development, NIMASA, in the first week of September, had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Immigration Service on seafarers’ traveling document and amongst other identity papers relating to maritime travels.
A statement by the Assistant Director, Public Relations, NIMASA, Osagie Edward, said that the move would also deepen the existing interagency collaboration between the two agencies.
According to the statement, the two agencies have agreed to provide a framework for a working relationship.
The agency also said the two agencies signed the agreement when the Comptroller General, NIS, Mr. Isah Jere, led some senior staff members of the agency on a courtesy visit to the management of NIMASA. Jamoh, while receiving the team, noted that the role of the Nigerian Immigration Service in enhancing security in the maritime domain is crucial.