Uche Cecil Izuora
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has engaged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy on measures to strengthen safety protocols and reduce accidents across Nigeria’s marine transportation sector.
The engagement, led by the NSIB Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Capt. Alex Sabundu Badeh Jr., took place in Abuja during a strategic briefing with the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Fatima Sugra Tabi’a Mahmoud.
Discussions focused on strengthening coordination among key maritime agencies to mitigate safety risks across Nigeria’s inland waterways and coastal routes.
Badeh outlined the NSIB’s operational mandate, organisational structure and strategic vision, stressing that achieving a safer maritime environment required coordinated efforts among the NSIB, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and other industry stakeholders.
He said the Bureau was pursuing proactive safety management, public education and sustained stakeholder engagement as part of efforts to reduce accident rates in the sector.
The NSIB boss also highlighted ongoing internal training programmes for its personnel, as well as capacity-building support for external stakeholders within the marine transport sector.
He further reviewed findings and safety recommendations arising from previous marine and inland-waterway accident investigations, stressing the importance of implementing lessons from past incidents to prevent recurrence.
Responding, Mahmoud commended the NSIB leadership for the proactive engagement and efforts to strengthen collaboration with the Ministry.
She disclosed that the Ministry was implementing nationwide campaigns aimed at addressing critical safety and compliance issues on the waterways, particularly mandatory life-jacket use and the prevention of passenger overloading on commercial boats.
Both organisations reaffirmed their commitment to deeper inter-agency cooperation, with the goal of building a safer, more efficient and resilient marine transportation network for Nigerians.
The collaboration is expected to enhance safety awareness, strengthen regulatory compliance and promote the effective implementation of recommendations arising from marine accident investigations.