The Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) has honoured the Coordinator FOU, Zone A, Comptroller Gambo Aliyu for his outstanding performance in checking Smuggling in the country, just as stakeholders at the 2926 summit emphasize the need for a better trained workforce that is capable of competing effectively in the global Maritime economy.
Speakers at the AMJON summit on insist that the fastest means of achieving Nigeria’s ambition to become Africa’s maritime hub is by empowering our professionals and youths with digital skills and industry experience that will enable them adapt to emerging technologies.
Stakeholders at the AMJON 2026 Maritime summit, themed “The Power of Innovation in a Future-Ready Maritime Training Agenda,” held on Friday at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos x-rayed the future of maritime skills development and the need to be innovative.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the Nigeria Customs Service was moving towards predictive border management, using artificial intelligence, data analytics and digital platforms to identify high-risk cargo and transactions.
He said the future Customs officer must understand digital systems, artificial intelligence and analytical thinking, while warning that technology alone could not modernise the Service.
“A sophisticated platform operated by inadequately trained personnel will simply reproduce inefficiency in digital form,” he declared.
Representative of the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Adebowale Ibrahim, supported the view that smart-port development would depend on skilled workers.
He revealed that the NPA was investing in training through its Port Training Institute and simulation facilities, with future programmes expected to cover smart ports, cybersecurity, green shipping and data-driven decision-making.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dayo Mobereola, also represented by Assistant Director, Public Relations, In the agency, Daniel Kajo, explained that the agency was digitising its operations to improve efficiency, reduce delays and close revenue leakages.
He stated that 134 National Seafarers Development Programme cadets were being deployed for sea-time training in the United Kingdom, India and Romania.
In a related development the Nigerian Maritime Services Limited (NSML) disclosed that 272 cadets had completed sea-time training under its Seafarers Continuous Development Programme, while another 54 were either in college or onboard vessels.
In a paper presented on behalf of the Managing Director, Abdulkadir Ahmed, Manager, Maritime Centre of Excellence, Bonny, Dr Effiong Ekanem-Attah, said the programme combined classroom education with simulation, sea-time and certification.
Delivering the keynote address, the Managing Director, Ports Operations Strategic Business Unit, Dangote Industries Limited, Simeon Omole, warned that Nigeria could lose maritime business if its ports failed to innovate. A“Ports that digitise will win. Ports that don’t will be bypassed,” he said.
Omole cited Dangote Refinery’s Single Point Mooring complex, which he said had recorded more than 1,100 tanker calls, as an example of how innovation and local expertise could overcome operational challenges.
He called for improved simulator training, regulatory sandboxes for new marine technologies and stronger partnerships between regulators, operators and academic institutions.
Chairman of the Occasion and President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Lucky Awimero, called for a rethink of Nigeria’s approach to human-capital development, insisting, “Nigeria does not train.”
Meanwhile, the Comptroller of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone “A”, Nigeria Customs Service, Gambo Aliyu, pledged stronger action against smuggling and deeper cooperation with the media.
He said the unit would continue to focus on intelligence-led enforcement, border security and trade facilitation.
AMJON President, Vera Osokpo, earlier in her address of welcome called for a paradigms shift in the way industry professionals were trained if the country is to achieve the desired leadership in the Maritime sector. “If Nigeria must lead in Africa, our maritime sector must take the lead,” she said.
She charged maritime journalists to take advantage of emerging technologies so they could report accurately and contribute meaningfully to industry discussions.
While commending the NSML, NPA, NIMASA, Customs, the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and other stakeholders for their participation, Osokpo noted that their actions demonstrated the importance of collaboration in developing the sector. “Maritime is not just a sector matter. Maritime is a national matter,” she said.
The summit which brought together regulators, operators, training institutions and other stakeholders to dissect innovation in the Marine and Blue segment of the nation’s economy also featured awards recognising other Nigerians and stakeholders who had distinguished themselves through service and excellence in the maritime sector.