The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that the role of Nigerian Navy in securing the Nigerian maritime domain was yielding positive results.
He said the navy’s effort led to the delisting of Nigeria from the list of piracy prone nations including the removal of war insurance premium hitherto paid by ships arriving the country to foster maritime commerce and trade.
The Minister said this while delivering a goodwill message at the shipping of stripes ceremony of two navy commodores promoted by the Nigerian Navy Board on 15 December 2022.
The Nigerian Navy board had approved the promotion of 30 commodores to the rank of Rear Admiral in December 2022 and 28 of them were decorated on 21 December 21, 2022.
The remaining two were promoted unto retirement hence their decoration commonly called shipping of stripes in naval parlance was postponed till their time of retirement.
The two commodores decorated to the rank of Rear Admiral were Preston Efedue and Jamila Malafa. Rear Admiral Efedue hails from Delta State and was commissioned into the Nigerian Navy in 1991. He holds a PhD in Diplomacy and International Affairs.
Rear Admiral Malafa hails from Adamawa State and joined the Nigerian Navy in 1988. She holds a masters degree in constitution/criminal law from the University of Lagos and international maritime law from International Maritime Law Institute, University of Macida, Malta. Until her retirement, she was the Director Legal Services, Naval Headquarters, Abuja.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, congratulated the newly decorated rear admirals for reaching the peak of their career and urged them to justify the confidence of a proud and deserving nation.
He maintained that the reduction in piracy, which culminated in delisting Nigeria from the International Maritime Bureau’s list of piracy prone countries and removal of war risk premium, led to reduced cost of insurance from $5000 to $960 for merchant ships coming to Nigeria.
He further used the opportunity to pledge his unalloyed loyalty and appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari.
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