The Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) Secretary General, Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has attributed Nigeria’s IMO Council victory to the country’s growing interest in maritime activities and its strategic position in West and Central Africa.
Adalikwu who congratulated President Bola Tinubu and the country’s Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola on Nigeria’s IMO Council win, noting it was a setback that Nigeria was absent from the council for 14 years.
He emphasized Nigeria’s crucial role in the African maritime ecosystem, citing its significant maritime trade volume and stake in the Gulf of Guinea.
The MOWCA chief Scribe cited the Nigerian government’s increased focus on maritime activities, marked by President Tinubu’s creation of a dedicated Ministry for Marine and Blue Economy, as a deliberate effort to solidify the country’s maritime standing.
According to him, MOWCA sees Nigeria as one capable of speaking for other maritime countries in West and Central Africa considering the country’s deep involvement in multimodal logistics for trade, linking rail to Abuja airport; linking rail to the Apapa Port in Lagos, having dry ports in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina with more coming up in other parts of the country
He said as a multilateral organisation, he committed to ensuring that all MOWCA member countries and it’s international allies outside of the Africa continent voted for Nigeria.
He recalled that MOWCA delegations visited several countries within and outside Africa soliciting for their support and received assurances that Nigeria will get more votes than it had gotten in the last 7 attempts where the country couldn’t make it into the IMO council
He further described Nigeria’s victory as a win for all MOWCA member countries as they would now enjoy a greater representation in the IMO’s executive organ between Assembly sessions and effectively steers the organization’s work programme, budget, and policy direction.
Speaking on the benefits of being on the IMO Council Adalkwu said Nigeria would be able to join in Influencing global shipping rules and play direct role in approving the IMO’s work programme and strategic plan which shapes or blocks new regulations for the next two years.
The victory, according to Adalkwu also opens opportunities to place national experts of council member countries in key committees, protect national shipping fleets and registries from unfavourable regulations and defending their flag state interests where global maritime decisions are being taken
He added that Nigeria’s seat would also secure technical assistance, training opportunities and funding from IMO’s Technical Cooperation programme while also boosting the country’s diplomatic prestige with global networking opportunities amongst peer maritime nations.
The SG said Nigeria now has access to first-hand information on upcoming regulatory proposals, enabling it to prepare the nation’s maritime industry and MOWCA member states.
Adalikwu thanked member states, Indonesia, and Singapore for supporting MOWCA’s campaign, and congratulated Liberia on securing a Category A seat on the IMO council.
By Ezurike Ugochukwu
