President Muhammadu Buhari is expected in Lagos state on Thursday to launch Deep Blue Project of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), it has emerged.
According to FIJ, Muyiwa Adejobi, Lagos State Police spokesperson, confirmed the visit on Wednesday.
Deep Blue Project initiated by Federal Ministry of Transportation and Federal Ministry of Defence is meant to strengthen national security on land, sea and air.
Dr Bashir Jamoh, Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) earlier announced this in a statement last Friday.
Jamoh said preparatory to the launch, Maritime Security Unit of Deep Blue Project was conducting simulation exercises for the event on land, air and sea to confirm its readiness for full deployment.
The director-general noted that the various military formations in the region were aware of the exercise.
He advised members of the public, especially those living in coastal communities to remain calm while the exercise was ongoing as it was only meant to test the readiness of the assets.
Jamoh stated;
With the deployment of the assets of the Deep Blue Project, we are entering another level of national security designed for total spectrum maritime security and better domain awareness using some of the latest technology.
This effort to secure our waters will give Nigerians more leverage to harness the enormous resources of our maritime environment and aid the drive toward economic diversification.
He said;
The main objective of the Deep Blue Project is to secure Nigerian waters up to the Gulf of Guinea. The project has three categories of platforms to tackle maritime security on land, sea and air.
The Deep Blue Project is the first integrated maritime security strategy in West and Central Africa with the aim of tackling the incidences of piracy, sea robbery and other crimes at sea.
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Meanwhile, Buhari’s anticipated visit is two days before a mega protest scheduled to take place at Freedom Park, Ojota, Lagos state on June 12 Democracy Day.
The protest is organized by various groups across the country agitating for different demands including better security, economy as well as Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Oduduwa Nation calling for secession.
