Federal Govt Urges Synergy On Piracy In Gulf Of Guinea

The federal government has called for more synergy among stakeholders to tackle headlong, the perennial problem of regional piracy in the Gulf of Guinea nations.

The minister of state, budget and national planning, Prince Clem Agba, made the call at the opening of a counter-piracy course on the core principles and practice of combating piracy in Abuja.

The course was conducted by the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre (MLAILPKC) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Japan.

The minister who was represented by the deputy director, UN Development System Division of the ministry, Mrs Victoria Oluyole, said this would help to consolidate the success being recorded in the fight against maritime crime.

Agba commended the UNDP and the Government of Japan with the Nigerian Navy and other concerned nations for strategising and planning on the ways and means of combating the menace on the national and regional waters.

He said this had also helped in making it safe and correcting the damages already done to the sector as well as restoring normalcy to the seafarers.

While commending the Government of Japan, the UNDP and the Nigerian Navy for facilitating the programme, which he described as remarkable, Agba expressed the hope that it would help address the challenges in the Gulf of Guinea.

“This event is remarkable as we have the assurance that the perennial problems of regional piracy activities in the Gulf of Guinea nations are being confronted headlong in a new tactical dimension through training of professionals who would be able to handle state-of-the-art equipment and development of other capacities.

The minister, therefore, urged participants to get the best of the training in order to deploy it afterward towards national objectives to salvage the region and the international communities.

The UNDP Team Lead, Governance, Peace and Security, Mr Matthew Alao, said the three-week course would help reinforce synergies and partnership among stakeholders.

Also said the course was part of a Japanese-funded project that intends to complement global, regional and national authorities visions and efforts at combating the menace of pirates in the Gulf of Guinea region.

The commandant, Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre Maj. Gen. Awaul Fagge, represented by the deputy commandant, Brig. Gen. Sunday Makolo, expressed concern on the rise in the different acts of piracy that threatens the maritime domain.