The Federal Government has reiterated its support and commitment to the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA).
The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi, made this known when the Secretary General of MOWCA, Dr. Paul Adalikwu and some delegates from other Member States paid him a courtesy call for the first time since he resumed office January, 2022.
“Please convey my gratitude to your Ministers and be rest assured that Nigeria is ready to give you all the necessary support that we need to give to let you survive and run the Organisation”, the Minister said.
Also, Ameachi expressed delight that some countries have signed their charter for the establishment of the Regional Maritime Development Bank and expressed their willingness to commit resources, stating that Nigeria was ready to pay its share of the equity agreed at the last meeting held in Lagos, Nigeria.
In respect of accommodation, the Minister said: “We will try and provide an accommodation for the bank, but we want to try and make sure other member states will be able to make their own contributions so that we don’t have our money tied down because we don’t have enough money to start”, he said.
He further assured that Nigeria will contribute to the development of the Secretariat since each member state has a required fee to pay for the management of the Secretariat.
Speaking earlier, the Secretary General, MOWCA, Dr. Paul Adalikwu while updating the Minister on the establishment of the Regional Maritime Development bank, said steps have been concluded by 8 countries who have signed the charter being the minimum threshold for the establishment of the bank.
According to Dr. Adalikwu, an interim Board has been put in place and an Incubation Committee has also worked out operational documents and adopted some management roles and at the 15th General Assembly in Democratic Republic of Congo, the authorization was given for the bank to take off
Speaking further, he said Nigeria is to host the headquarters of the bank and produce the President of the bank, while Cameroon will produce the Vice President and Cote d’ Ivoire the second Vice President, adding that MOWCA is ready to launch the bank at the earliest possible time.
In attendance were: The Administrative and Legal Adviser to the Minister of Transportation, Congo Brazzaville, Litho Ali, the Technical Adviser to the Minister of Transportation , Cameroun, Prof. Gerard Marin Messina and Directors of the Ministry.
Eric Ojiekwe
D (Press & PR)
April 6, 2022
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