By Innocent Orok
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has denied any concession agreement in its core functions, as well as expressing its resolve to embrace technology as a means to plugging revenue leakages and enhance the Agency’s capacity to deliver on its regulatory mandate more effectively.
The assurance by the agency came as its denies alleged recent ‘sponsored publications’ falsely claiming that NIMASA has concession its core functions.
According to a press statement issued on Sunday by Head of Public Relations, Edward Osagie, NIMASA asserted that there is “no iota of truth” to the concession claims, labeling them as the work of external and internal elements seeking to benefit from the current porous system.
“To set the records straight, following a comprehensive internal review of operational systems, the current leadership of NIMASA resolved to embrace technology as a means of enhancing the Agency’s capacity to deliver on its regulatory mandate more effectively and to bring into the coffers of government additional revenue and ensure funds due government does not end up in private hands, ” the statement said.
The Maritime regulatory agency stated that a pivotal innovation in its digitalization efforts is the Maritime Enhanced Monitoring System.
This system, according to NIMASA brings digital traceability to the core of Nigeria’s maritime operations.
“MEMS provides real-time visibility into vessel movements, operational logs, and regulatory interactions. Through automated alerts, smart invoicing, and centralized data integration, NIMASA can now detect, document, and respond to maritime activities with greater precision and efficiency—eliminating unnecessary bottlenecks while strengthening compliance. ”
NIMASA stated that additional recipients targeted are, waste reception services, a routine operation for both domestic and international vessels, which it said have traditionally lacked proper tracking, resulting in unmonitored activities and significant revenue losses.
“With MEMS, each waste offload can be logged, time-stamped, and automatically billed, converting previously missed opportunities into a consistent revenue stream while ensuring environmental standards are met.
“Marine pollution control, another critical area of NIMASA’s mandate, has similarly been constrained by limited digital tools. In the absence of satellite tracking and automated reporting, pollution events often go unnoticed or are reported too late to mitigate their impact. With the integration of modern surveillance systems, digital logbooks, and real-time alerts, NIMASA can now respond swiftly to such incidents, recover environmental damages, and hold polluters accountable—both legally and financially,.”
NIMASA noted that past revenue shortfalls experienced by the Agency mainly stemmed from outdated manual processes, fragmented data systems, and insufficient digital enforcement mechanisms, which allowed some external elements to capitalize on the loopholes for personal gains.
“The current digital reforms being implemented by NIMASA are focused squarely on overcoming these limitations. By investing in digital infrastructure and streamlining monitoring systems, the Agency is positioning itself to fulfill its statutory obligations with transparency, efficiency, and accountability, ”
The agency urged the public to disregard the “misleading reports” of concession and instead lend their support to it’s transformative journey as it aligns with the broader national objectives of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
NIMASA expressed its commitment to strengthening maritime governance, ensuring environmental safety, and optimizing revenue generation for the nation through these digital advancements as it noted that the Deep Blue Project of the Agency, which now enjoys global recognition also witnessed such resistance at the initial stage.
