The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Auwal Zubairu-Gambo, has called for greater collaboration among stakeholders to address maritime security challenges in the country.
He made the call st the opening ceremony of the 2021 Chief of Naval Staff Annual Conference (CONSAC), on Thursday in Kano.
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The theme of the conference: “Enhancing Nigeria’s Maritime Security for Improved National Prosperity.”
Zubairu-Gambo said the Nigerian Navy was saddled with the responsibility of securing the country’s maritime environment, which possessed strategic importance to the nation’s economy.
“The current security threats in the environment are of serious concern to all of us gathered here today, as well as, the entire Nigerians.
“What is perhaps more disturbing is that much of the criminal activities in our maritime environment are directed at the economic life of Nigeria.
“The scourge of illegalities, such as sea robbery, piracy, crude oil theft, poaching, human and illicit trafficking of weapons and drugs, constitute serious challenges to the development of Nigeria and the region at large,” he said.
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He said that the Nigerian Navy had just concluded a retreat, in addition to maritime stakeholders and Regional Maritime Awareness Capability Conferences, with clearly defined communique and implementation guidelines.
“I therefore, believed that this conference, will provide a veritable platform to proffer workable solutions in fine-tuning Nigerian Navy efforts at securing our maritime environment,” he said.
He commendedlocal communities and other sister agencies for theirs contributions towards ensuring safety in the nation’s maritime environment.
In his keynote address, Gov Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, said that the conference was timely, because the Nigeria’s maritime environment holds good percentage of Africa’s oil production.
He explained that the maritime environment was facing a lot of challenges such as piracy, sea robbery, kidnapping, illegal oil bunkering, as well as, unregulated fishing, among others.
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Ganduje commended the Nigerian Navy for creating that platform for intellectual discourse, aimed at enhancing the collective maritime security architecture of the country.
According to him, the administration was determined to support the implementation of the resolutions of the conference, as well as, all initiatives towards ensuring maritime security in the state.
