Surveyor General, NHA join forces to protect Nigeria’s maritime interests

The Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (OSGOF) and the National Hydrographic Agency (NHA) on Tuesday made commitment to enhance collaboration in hydrography and safeguard of Nigeria’s maritime interests.

The was reached when the Surveyor General of the Federation, Abudulganiyu Adebomehin, hosted the Hydrographer of the Federation, Rear Admiral Ayo Olugbode.

The meeting which took place at the OSGOF headquarters in Abuja discussed how to advance hydrography in Nigeria especially in the area of staffing and mutual benefits.

The meeting was disclosed in a statement by Henry David, the Head of Information and Public Relations at the OSGOF.

Adebomehin assured that OSGOF would support NHA by deploying competent personnel to enhance synergy, ensuring effective representation of civilian expertise alongside the Navy’s military oversight.

According to the Surveyor General of the Federation: “This is a new frontier for the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (OSGOF) in which the Navy represents the military while OSGOF will stand for the civilians at the National Hydrographic Agency and competent hand will be sent from my office to NHA to represent our office.”

Earlier in his remarks, Hydrograhper of the Federation, Rear Admiral Olugbode, assured of continuous cooperation, stressing the importance of joint efforts in protecting national maritime interests and enhancing hydrographic capabilities.

According to him, “…this is homecoming for me. As a surveyor too, coming to the office of the Surveyor General of the Federation is a great privilege for me not only have you given me inspiration, you have given me guidance, you have given me wisdom, you’ve given me what you call institutional memory of how things should be done. We will not stay away from you. I hope you will not find us a bit of a bother.”

Speaking further “as time goes on, those of you who are even part of his staff and executive team, you will be finding me here more often, and I’m telling you, it’s not rhetoric. I will be coming here very frequently. As Hydrographer of the Federation, we are joined at the hip.”

“His responsibility is terrestrial, mine is maritime. I’m privileged to be appointed by the president to be governor of the ocean, the responsibility of 84,000 square nautical miles is what is on me. One-third of the land, Nigeria is 923 square kilometers, It’s a huge responsibility, It’s a responsibility that is a shared burden between us” Rear Admiral Ayo Olugbode told SGOF.