President Muhammadu Buhari has acknowledged the role of the Nigerian Navy as a cardinal Agency in the nation’s maritime sector that has developed into a big force to be reckoned with amongst Navies of the World.
He stated this at the opening ceremony of the International Maritime Conference in Onne Port Multi- Purpose Center, Federal Ocean Terminal, Rivers State.
The President remarked that the concerted effort of the Federal Government in ensuring that the Nigerian Military has the best equipment, better operation procedure and the introduction of synergy amongst the tri-Services is the result of clear performance.
He said the Conference which is to commemorate the sixty – sixth Anniversary of the Nigerian Navy is a veritable platform to adopt measures to mitigate against vulnerabilities in African Waters especially in the Gulf of Guinea.
President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi (Rtd) said he will continue to support the Nigerian Navy to achieve international best practices that will translate to enhanced economic development.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Auwal Zubair Gambo in his opening remarks said the theme of the conference “Optimizing Collaboration for Maritime Security and Socio – Economic Development in Africa” is expected to elicit analytical discuss among participants on how best to deal with common Maritime challenges.
Vice Admiral Gambo said the huge attendance at the Conference is a prove of the collaborative commitments of Navies of the World towards defining mechanism to tackle current threats in the Gulf of Guinea which he described as transnational in nature.
The opening ceremony was attended by Serving and retired Chiefs of Defence Staff, the Service Chiefs, foreign counterparts, members of the diplomatic communities as well as corporate partners of the Navies of the world.
