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The Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have renewed their strategic partnership through the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening maritime safety and security across Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The agreement was signed at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja in the presence of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola; principal staff officers; and senior officials of both organisations.
A statement from the Nigerian Navy spokesman, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said the renewed MoU consolidates a partnership that dates back to 2007 and has been sustained through successive renewals.
The two institutions said the agreement would align their complementary mandates, capabilities and expertise while improving coordination and operational cooperation to deliver measurable outcomes in maritime safety and security.
Speaking ahead of the signing, Mobereola described the renewal as a reaffirmation of the shared commitment of the Navy and NIMASA to the security, safety, sustainability and prosperity of Nigeria’s maritime domain and Blue Economy.
He said Nigeria’s economic wellbeing was closely linked to the sea, stressing that securing the country’s maritime space remained a national imperative.
Mobereola acknowledged the Nigerian Navy as a critical pillar of the country’s maritime security architecture and commended its operational support to NIMASA in the discharge of the agency’s statutory responsibilities.
In his remarks, Vice Admiral Abbas described the renewed MoU as an important milestone in an enduring relationship founded on decades of cooperation and shared national interests.
The CNS expressed confidence in NIMASA’s leadership and the progress being recorded by the agency, while reaffirming the Navy’s commitment to sustained collaboration for improved national outcomes.
He pledged the Navy’s operational support for the effective discharge of NIMASA’s mandate over the next five years, stressing that sustained inter-agency cooperation was indispensable to securing Nigeria’s maritime space and advancing the national interest.
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Under the renewed framework, the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA will deepen cooperation in maritime safety and security, marine pollution control, search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, intelligence and information sharing, hydrography, training and professional capacity development.
The areas of cooperation are expected to enhance maritime domain awareness, improve coordinated responses to incidents at sea and strengthen the protection of ships, crew, cargo, passengers and navigation within Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The agreement also provides for enhanced institutional cooperation through timely intelligence and information exchange, appropriate utilisation of relevant facilities and capabilities, as well as collaboration in other areas of mutual interest.
To ensure accountability and sustained implementation, the MoU will be subjected to regular institutional reviews.
The two organisations will also jointly convene an annual Maritime Safety and Security Conference to assess progress, identify emerging challenges and refine their joint priorities.
The mechanisms, according to the organisations, are designed to ensure that the partnership continues to produce practical and measurable outcomes.
For the Nigerian Navy, securing Nigeria’s territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone remains critical to protecting lives and property, safeguarding legitimate maritime activities, preserving national security and creating an enabling environment for the sustainable development of the Blue Economy.
The Navy said it would continue to work with NIMASA, sister Services and other security agencies to protect Nigeria’s maritime interests and defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It reaffirmed its commitment to promoting a safer, more secure and prosperous maritime environment for Nigeria and the wider Gulf of Guinea.
