Nigeria has pulled out of the Maritime Organisation for West and Central Africa (MOWCA) over the “promotion of illegality” that it could not be a part of.
This was disclosed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Transportation, Eric Ojiekwe, on Monday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He added that the exit from MOWCA was a protest against the disregard for the rule of law during the election of the secretary-general of the organisation.
Ojiekwe said, “Nigeria as a nation must take a stand against the promotion of illegality, disrespect for the rule of law and contravention of the rules regarding election of the Secretary-General of MOWCA.
READ ALSO: WEMA Bank Logs N4.3bn Profit Before Tax In H1 2021
“Nigeria draws the attention of the General Assembly to the comment of MOWCA as presented by MOWCA secretariat in the annotated agenda circulated this week to the Committee of Experts’ meeting.
“It confirmed that Nigeria is the only country that met the age eligibility criteria requirement that candidates must not exceed 55 years.
“The candidate nominated by Nigeria was 55 years as at when nominations closed in 2020, while the candidates of Guinea was 60 years old and that of Benin was 62 years old.
“By this, the Nigerian candidate and Director, Maritime Services, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr Paul Adaliku was the only eligible candidate and should have been declared unopposed.”
