President Muhammadu Buhari has eulogised the Nigerian Navy for its commitment in ensuring the safety of the nation’s waterways.

The president stressed that the Nigerian Navy partnering other Navies across the Gulf of Guinea was in the right direction to enhance capacity that would guarantee a collective maritime defence.

Buhari spoke yesterday, through the Minister of Defence, Bashir Salihi Magashi, at the 2022 International Maritime Conference in commemoration of the 66th Anniversary of Nigerian Navy, held at Onne, Rivers State.

Speaking further, Buhari said the conference would fashion out the best way for collaboration among security architecture and curb maritime crime in the collective maritime environments.

He said: “To this end, we owe a strong reason to support the Nigerian Navy and I make bold to commend the Nigerian Navy for their giant strides in maritime security operations, which resulted to several arrests of economic saboteurs, perpetrators of illegal bunkering, smugglers, pipeline vandals, and other miscreants in the fight against illegality in the Gulf of Guinea maritime domain.

“The efforts has brought about decline in piracy and ultimately delisting of Nigeria from the International Maritime Bureau of piracy list in March 2022.

“The Nigerian Navy is the pertinent agency in the marine sector that has the responsibility in the constitution to check threats in the maritime threats.”

He added: “These threats have become transnational and beyond the scope and capability of one nation to deal with. The situation therefore calls for international collaboration and this conference therefore symbolises strategic collaborative initiative between the Nigerian Navy and…