General
NIMASA to Enhance Seafarers’ Certification Process
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has commenced moves to ensure the integrity of seafarers’ certificates issued by the Nigerian government in a bid to enhance their employability.
This was disclosed by the Director General of the NIMASA, Mr Dayo Mobereola, while speaking on the sideline of the commissioning of two brand new tug boats in Lagos.
He said that the agency has put measures in place to ensure that the process of issuing its Certificate of Competency (COC) is recognised internationally.
Mr Mobereola also said that the process will make the issuance of the COC accepted not only in the Gulf of Guinea but all over the world.
The NIMASA chief stated that Nigeria has very competent seafarers, but the process of certification is what is currently at stake.
“I have been looking at ensuring that our process of issuing our CoCs is one of the internationally recognized processes so that it can accepted not only in the Gulf of Guinea regions alone but internationally so that our seafarers can go and work on US vessels, UK registered vessels, Bermuda registered vessels and all of those processes.
“It is a just matter of process; it is not that we do not have the competent seafarers, it is not that we do not have a process in place, it is just to ensure that this process is fine-tuned in such a way that it is internationally acceptable to the shipping companies and that is what we are working on,” he said.
This development followed worries raised by stakeholders including the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNO/WTSSA) which decried the non-availability of a multilateral agreement between Nigeria and other maritime countries.
According to them, such a development has denied thousands of Nigerian seafarers employment in the seafaring sub-sector of the Nigerian maritime industry.
Also speaking, Mr Joseph Yousuo, disclosed that Ghana has mutual agreement with almost 30 maritime communities hence the recognition of Ghana’s Certificate of Competence.
The agreement, according to Mr Yousuo, has also led to Ghana dominating seafarers’ employment in the sub-region and called on NIMASA to open up talks with other nations on the matter.
On the lack of class 2 and 1 certification, the group suggested that Maritime training in Nigeria should have both their facilities and personnel upgraded to meet international standards for the issuance of these certificates to enable Nigerian seafarers to work on board foreign and bigger vessels.
Mr Yousuo also called for tax exemption for seafarers adding that Nigeria is the only country in the world that still taxes their seafarers noting sailors spend most of their time in the sea but tax is levied on the place of abode.
“Most Nigerian seafarers are unemployed. With the Cabotage regime in force, unemployment of Nigerian seafarers will be a thing of the past. A waiver should not be an option, it is inimical to Nigerian seafarers.
“Some shipping companies mostly trawlers terminate sailors’ employment without due process. We urge NIMASA to call the employers of labour in this category to be mindful of the disregard for the rights of an employee.
“NIMASA as the regulatory agency should as a matter of urgency issue a Marine Notice to all seafarers’ employers engaged in this slavery attitude to take caution about the non-payment of wages and under-payment to Nigerian seafarers as this is the current trend in our maritime sector. A sanction should be placed on any company with such an act,” he said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has urged all relevant government agencies to promptly initiate actions for the full implementation of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, following its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, was aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap. N133, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and establish the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports while safeguarding the interests of shippers, service providers, and users of regulated port services. With the President’s assent, it has now been enacted as an Act of Parliament.
The legislation represents one of the landmark achievements of the 10th National Assembly. It reflects the Speaker’s commitment to legislative excellence, institutional reform, and sustainable economic growth, according to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr Musa Krishi.
The bill underwent a rigorous and inclusive legislative process, including extensive stakeholder consultations and a public hearing. It was passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President.
The Act provides a robust legal and institutional framework to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports by fostering transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in port operations; protecting the rights and interests of shippers, service providers, and other port users; and aligning Nigeria’s port regulatory system with global best practices, thereby enhancing the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
Despite receiving presidential assent, the Act has yet to be fully operationalised.
He warned that any further delay would undermine the legislative intent of the reform, prolong the exposure of port users to arbitrary charges and operational inefficiencies, and deny the nation the anticipated benefits of increased revenue, improved trade facilitation, and stronger investor confidence in the marine and blue economy sector.
The Speaker urged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, to take the necessary administrative, institutional, and financial measures for the prompt implementation of the Act.
He said this should include the formal transition to, as well as operational empowerment of, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to discharge its statutory mandate effectively.
The full implementation of the Act is critical to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s ports, reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening trade competitiveness, and positioning Nigeria as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The statement noted that the Speaker reaffirmed the 10th House’s commitment to exercising the necessary legislative oversight to ensure this landmark legislation, along with others assented to by the President, is fully implemented and achieves its intended goals for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to provide funding and support for the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs.
The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — Different Contexts, Common Aspirations — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities. The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
The NiYA and Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, including entrepreneurs without formal business registration or established financial records.
Over four weeks, participants will undergo intensive training focused on business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to N5 million each from Cascador, alongside an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure, manage and scale their businesses.
The funding and support will be presented at a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
The Minister for Youth Development, Mr s Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership would enable NiYA to move beyond training by helping young people transform ideas into investable businesses and achieve sustainable economic participation through business preparation and access to capital.
“The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one cohort. If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”
The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.
NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
Ms Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”
