$195m security contract with Israeli firm not cancelled—FG

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dakuku Peterside, yesterday said the Federal Government did not cancel a security contract with an Israeli firm but rather requested that the company’s status be investigated.

Dakuku stated that from the beginning, the contract was to see the Israeli firm, HSLi, acquire patrol vessels and helicopters to be deployed for the patrol of the oceans and to train the personnel to man the platforms.

Speaking to journalists in Lagos, Dakuku said many people misunderstood the contract to mean that the firm was to take over the patrol of the nation’s waterways from the Navy.

“Very soon, we will take delivery of fast attack patrol boats and maritime coast guard surveillance aircraft. Personnel of the Isreali firm will train some of our military officers,” he said.

Dakuku noted that part of the mandate of the NIMASA is to provide adequate security within the nation’s waters and that in doing so, the agency had enforced the complianceof the International Ship and Ports Security (ISPS) code.

This, according to him, has increased the International Maritime Organization (IMO) rating of Nigeria from 30 percent in 2017 to 80 percent in the last six months.

He explained that this implied that port facilities in Nigeria were now safer for foreign vessels to do port calls.

“NIMASA has also increased its surveillance of the ocean with better a better collaboration with the Nigerian Navy. By this, we are trying to reduce cases pirate attacks on our waters,” he said.