The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy (FMMBE) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) have begun discussions on strengthening inter-agency cooperation to improve safety across Nigeria’s waterways. Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Fatima Mahmood, said the collaboration would help clarify institutional mandates and prevent overlapping responsibilities in maritime safety, accident investigation, regulation and enforcement.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving an NSIB delegation led by its Director-General, Capt. Alex Badeh Jnr., Mahmood said the ministry was reviewing the marine and blue economy ecosystem to ensure agencies were properly positioned to deliver on their statutory responsibilities.
Badeh called for independent marine casualty investigations to be integrated into ongoing maritime policy reforms, warning that poor coordination and delays in reporting accidents could cost lives and result in the loss of vital evidence. He said Nigeria’s estimated 10,000 kilometres of navigable inland waterways across 28 states made effective coordination essential.
He proposed a formal casualty notification protocol requiring marine accidents to be reported to relevant authorities within one hour, enabling investigators to reach accident scenes quickly and preserve evidence. Badeh stressed that the NSIB conducts independent, no-blame investigations to establish the causes and circumstances of accidents and issue safety recommendations.
He said stronger inter-agency coordination and timely investigations would help raise Nigeria’s maritime safety standards, reinforce its standing as a responsible flag, port and inland waterways state.