Freight forwarders back restructuring of NIMASA

The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has expressed its willingness to partner with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to enthrone professionalism and efficiency in ports operations.

The Chairman of NAGAFF Board of Trustees, Chief Chidiebere Enelamah, who said this when he led a delegation of the association on a courtesy visit to the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, explained that partnership would benefit the nation’s economy.

He described the NIMASA’s DG as a dynamic and focused personality and enjoined him to remain resolute in his determination to make Nigeria a major maritime hub in Africa.

Highlighting the pivotal role of the freight forwarding profession to trade facilitation, Enelamah called on Peterside to partner with NAGAFF to enthrone professionalism and efficiency in ports operations for the economic benefit of the country.

Responding, Peterside thanked members of the delegation for their solidarity and assured them that NIMASA will undergo the requisite of restructuring, reformation and repositioning in order to emerge more productive.

The DG, who described the job of freight forwarders as indispensible to the shipping and logistics chain, assured the delegation that the current management took professionalism very seriously and therefore was committed to partnering with NAGAFF, for that cutting edge expertise that only professionals can provide.

He said freight forwarders are a major stakeholder group in the maritime sector which NIMASA must collaborate with in the area of revenue generation given the nation’s determination to diversify its economy from.

Peterside said “because the country has come to a realisation that oil is not enough to build our economy based on its dwindling price in the international market, we need to partner with relevant stakeholders to make our maritime sector more viable.”