By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
NIGERIA’s MARITIME Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has fired back at allegations of operations being handed to private interests, affirming its full control while accelerating a digital overhaul to clean up the nation’s shipping sector and bolster public revenue.
The agency stated unequivocally that claims of a concession were entirely false and the work of internal and external actors seeking to exploit past inefficiencies in maritime operations.
According to management, a sweeping internal review prompted a decision to adopt new technologies aimed at closing revenue leakages, enhancing regulatory oversight, and increasing national earnings.
A cornerstone of this reform is the Maritime Enhanced Monitoring System (MEMS), a real-time digital platform that tracks vessel movements, operational logs, and regulatory interactions.
The system allows NIMASA to detect and document maritime activities with greater accuracy, automating alerts, invoicing, and data centralisation—removing bottlenecks that previously allowed unregulated practices to flourish.
Waste reception services, often neglected or inaccurately billed, are now tightly monitored under MEMS.
Each transaction is logged, timestamped, and billed automatically, converting previously lost revenue opportunities into steady income while maintaining environmental compliance.
Marine pollution control has also seen significant improvements. Before these reforms, pollution incidents were often undetected due to the absence of satellite monitoring and automated alerts.
Now, NIMASA responds swiftly, recovering environmental damages and holding polluters accountable both legally and financially.
The agency identified that much of its historical revenue shortfalls stemmed from outdated manual procedures, fragmented databases, and a lack of robust digital enforcement tools—weaknesses that made the system vulnerable to abuse.
Current reforms aim to eliminate these gaps through smart surveillance, real-time data, and transparent enforcement.
NIMASA called on the public to reject misinformation and support its transformation agenda, which aligns with the broader strategic goals of Nigeria’s Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to transparent governance, safety at sea, environmental protection, and revenue optimisation.
It also highlighted that its globally recognised Deep Blue Project—initially met with similar resistance—now stands as a testament to the success of bold maritime innovation.
