Cross River a Well-Run State – Dakuku Peterside
Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has commended the leadership qualities of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.
The NIMASA boss said Ayade typifies good governance in the country.
Peterside gave the commendation when he, along with the Chairman, Board of Directors of the agency, Major Gen Jonathan India Garba (Rtd) led top management staff of the agency on a courtesy call on Governor Ayade in Government House, Calabar prior to their 3-day retreat in the state, yesterday.
He lauded the strategic role of Calabar in the maritime industry in Nigeria being the premier developed port with transactions history dating back to the 15th century.
He explained that the choice of Calabar for their retreat was deliberate to underscore the role the state plays in maritime development in the country.
“We are not only here to brainstorm and discuss our policy direction as a deliberate effort to repositioning the agency in line with global trend as well as bridge the gap between policy making and implementation.
“We will also make out time to take our directors on a trip round Calabar, so that they can see a state that works.”
According to Peterside “We are convinced that at the end of this retreat, memories of Cross River will linger for a long while.”
He disclosed that “Calabar, more than any other place has the potential to drive coastal transportation in Nigeria. As we speak, one can travel from Calabar to Lokoja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Warri amongst other coastal regions in the country through the waterways.”
The NIMASA boss explained that “From the period Calabar port was founded in the 15th century to 1969, the port was managed by private European firms and was the only port that served as a gateway for commercial activities to both northern and eastern Nigeria.”
He said that “apart from the fact that Calabar is the first developed port in Nigeria, it has the longest navigational channel in the country. No doubt, Calabar is also the natural tourism capital of Nigeria. No other state is as endowed as the state, which underscores our visit to the state for the retreat.”
The NIMASA DG said there is “a relationship between the Calabar Port, and the superhighway that the government is embarking on because with the celebrated superhighway, the role of seaport in driving the economy of this country cannot be overemphasize.”
Peterside noted that “over 90 percent of import and export activities is through the waterways.”
Also Speaking, Chairman, Board of Directors of the agency, Major Gen Jonathan India Garba (Rtd) urged Ayade to do more in Cross River State as a tourists’ haven by ensuring that it remains safe, secure all year round, particularly during the festive period.”
The Chairman said they were “ looking for a peaceful, serene and a tourists’ destination for our retreat and Cross River State was overwhelmingly chosen by all after which we were now left with the challenge of selecting venue between Obudu Ranch Resort and Calabar, and for obvious reasons, Calabar was chosen which is why we are here.”
He urged the governor to maintain the status of Calabar because it’s one commodity that has helped market Nigeria to the outside world.
Responding, Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, thanked them for their kind words saying that “for you to identify Cross River as a state that is working in the country is an encouragement and that will spur us to do more. Indeed in Cross River we strive to work for the betterment of our people.”
Ayade stressed that over 90 percent of trade is ferried through the seaports, saying that there was no way the country will have sustainable mercantile transactions if it continues to depend on roads to move its goods and services.
Ayade lauded the leadership of the agency saying it had remained focus and committed in bringing in innovative thinking to make the maritime sector more vibrant, saying: “The composition of the board was a perfect blend that will work together to give Nigeria a better roadmap in harnessing the maritime sub sector of the economy to grow the country.
“You have brought a lot of energy, change and charisma to the agency which is why it is more vibrant to meet the emerging challenge in the maritime industry.”
On the recent approval granted the state by the Federal Government to procure a transaction advisor for Bakassi Deep Seaport project, the governor said: “Let me use this opportunity to express our profound gratitude, deepest love and warmth to our President, Muhammadu Buhari as well as the Honorable Minister of Transport, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi for the approval of a transaction advisor for the Bakassi deep seaport.”
He noted that the approval was timely, and that it has healed the wounds of neglect and abandonment occasioned by the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroun and that it has reintegrated the state back into Nigerian equation.
Ayade lauded the effort and commitment of the transport Minister, his forthrightness, focus and persistency in ensuring that the approval was given in record time saying that the it was indeed unprecedented.
The governor urged them to exhibit their core objective of ensuring environmental and people’s safety on the waters, explaining that the dislocation of social structure of Bakassi, it has created a haven for militancy and other forms of criminality to thrive on the waterways. He called on them to check the menace to make the waters safe for transactions.
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