The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola has deposited three Instruments of Accession to IMO Conventions that were signed by President Bola Tinubu.
The development is coming a few weeks after Nigeria declared its intention to contest election for a seat on the IMO Council, is expected to enhance Nigeria’s maritime governance and align its practices with international standards, promoting maritime safety, security, and environmental protection.
Shortly after the presentation ceremonies, Oyetola informed the IMO Secretary General, Arsenio Dominguez, of the President’s commitment to ensuring Nigeria aligns with international maritime standards regarding maritime safety, security, and sustainable marine practices. He also called on the IMO to extend technical support to Nigeria.
In his words: “These instruments, duly acceded by His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, signify Nigeria’s continued commitment to aligning with international maritime standards, ensuring maritime safety and security, and promoting sustainable marine practices.”
“We hereby request tailored technical cooperation under the Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) to enhance Nigeria’s compliance with IMO conventions and improve our maritime governance and implementation of the instruments we submitted today,” he stated.
On his part, the IMO Secretary General, Arsenio Dominguez, acknowledged with appreciation the formal deposition of the Instruments of Accession, stating that it underscores Nigeria’s steadfast commitment to aligning with global maritime standards.
“I congratulate Nigeria for its exceptional efforts in acceding to these six critical IMO instruments. I encourage continued momentum by securing presidential assent to additional key conventions. We at the IMO remains fully committed to supporting Nigeria through technical cooperation and capacity-building initiatives to ensure the successful implementation of these instrumentsm,” Arsenio said.
