Nigerian emerges first vice president of IMO Assembly

The ongoing 28th general assembly of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which started last week in London with the representatives of all 170 member states in attendance, has elected Dalhatu Tafida, Nigeria’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom, as its first vice president.

“This is a thing of pride for Nigeria. It is a prestige and a mark of recognition and a trust in the ability of Nigeria,” said Idris Umar, minister of transport, who was the leader of Nigeria’s delegation to the assembly.

“As vice president of the IMO, Nigeria will play a more significant role in the affairs of the international organisation because in the absence of the president, the vice will preside over its meetings,” he added.

Reacting to this, Ziakede Akpoblokemi, director-general of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), who was represented at the general assembly by Haruna Baba-Jauro, NIMASA’s executive director, Finance and Administration, described Tafida’s election as a vote of confidence on Nigeria, while also assuring that safety in the Gulf of Guinea remained a top priority for IMO.

“The outgoing president of the General Assembly is concerned about safety in the Gulf of Guinea. Even though NIMASA has made progress in some areas, the Gulf of Guinea remains a challenge. And, for us as an agency, it is a challenge and we will continue to synergise with others to ensure safety, although the waters are actually safer now,” he added.

The assembly has also elected a number of states to be members of its council for the 2014-2015 biennium. States in Category A (10 states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services) include China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Panama, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States of America.

Category B includes 10 states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade. They are Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.

States in Category C are 20 states not elected under (A) or (B) above but which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world. They include Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.

The council is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the assembly, for supervising the work of the organisation. Between sessions of the assembly, the council performs all the functions of the assembly, except that of making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.

The newly elected council will meet, following the conclusion of the 28th Assembly, for its 111th session (on 5 December) and will elect its chairman and vice-chairman for the next biennium.