Chidi Ogbuokiri
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has said that the Maritime Security Project to secure the Gulf of Guinea will be launched in Lagos in June by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister made this known when the Belgium Ambassador to Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit today in Abuja.
A statement by the Director, Press & PR, Federal Ministry of Transport, Anastasia Ogbonna, qiotef the minister as saying that “the crisis in the maritime sector is the maritime insecurity and it’s more complex than the world knows but the Federal Government has come up with a solution and it is ready to take off. The Navy, Police, Army and State Security Service are involved.”
He also said, “if it is successful, in the near future, there will be improvement in Maritime security, then other countries in the Gulf of Guinea can adopt it”, adding “75 per cent or 65 per cent of crime comes from our water and if we are able to eliminate it, then we will be making a lot of progress.
According to Amaechi, if you are in the air, you see what is happening in the water, you are inside the water, you will be able to respond, the helicopter has the capacity to drop in the Naval men when they see anything suspicious.
Speaking further, he stated that he will be glad to partner and share information with anyone who wants information for the purpose of securing the Gulf of Guinea.
Earlier, the Belgium Ambassador to Nigeria, Daniel Bertrand officially presented a letter to the Minister requesting for the support of the Nigerian government for the Belgium candidate for a position at the International Maritime Organization.
Bertrand also mentioned that they have observed with keen interest what is happening in the Gulf of Guinea and would like to be of assistance and give support to the implementation of the maritime security in the area.
