The federal government says the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) should not be expected to generate revenue for the government since its mandate was to act as a regulator of maritime safety and security.

The minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, in a statement by the ministry’s director of press and public relations, Eric Ojiekwe on Saturday, stated this at the final session of the 5-day National Council on Transportation summit in Kano state.

“People put NIMASA under pressure that they must make money; make money for what? NIMASA actually is a regulatory authority, not for them to go and look for money.

“The people that should be making money and they must hear it now is the Nigeria Ports Authority. It is their responsibility to make money.

“NIMASA should therefore focus on being a regulatory authority on issues of safety and security of our waterways,” Mr Amaechi said at the summit.

The minister said the failure to convene the national council on transportation was due to Nigeria’s economic downturn and the advent of COVID-19, adding that decisions reached would be utilised by the federal government.

“Transportation is essential to sustainable development as it enables access to employment, business, education, health services and social interactions.

“The prosperity and wellbeing of developing and developed world are inseparably linked to transport. As such, President Muhammadu Buhari has made issues relating to transportation, one of the topmost priorities of his administration,” he said.