Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, was the Special Guest of Honour (SGOH) at the commissioning of 3xWarships and 2x Helicopters by the Nigerian Navy in Naval Dockyard Limited in Lagos, yesterday May 30, 2024.
He was represented by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima GCON, who flagged off a Regional Maritime Exercise(REMEX) and declared the Nigerian Navy International Maritime Conference (IMC) 2024, open. All three events (commissioning, flag-off and conference) were to commemorate the Nigerian Navy’s 68th Anniversary.
In his remarks, the President commended the Navy and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla for creating “a safe and secure maritime environment.” The President referred to the Nigerian Navy as “lifeguards of Nigeria’s Maritime Environment” and applauded Vice Admiral Ogalla’s anti-crude oil theft operations which have led to increasing levels of oil production for Nigeria 
The 3 newly acquired ships and 2 helicopters commissioned by the Vice President were;
– NNS OCHUZOR -35m Hydrographic Survey Vessel.
– NNS CHALAWA – 32m Seaward Defence Boat (SDB)
– NNS ZUR 32m (Seaward Defence Boat)
– Helo NN 412
– Helo NN 414
The VP flagged off the REMEX tagged “ABO-OKUN,” onboard the Helo-Deck of NNS KADA as participating ships from various navies filed past. The navies involved in the exercise include Brazil, Cameroon,China and 11xNN ships with 2xHelicopters.
Several countries also attended Day 1 of the IMC 2024; they include the U.S., South Korea, France, China, UK, Spain, Russia, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea Gambia and Benin.
The theme of the Conference which continues today, Friday 31 May 2024, is “Promoting the Blue Economy in Africa through International Cooperation on Maritime Security.”
According to the Nigerian Navy, “this year’s NN 68th Anniversary has shown undoubtedly, that under the leadership of Vice Admiral Ogalla and the C-in-C, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, the Nigerian Navy is at its highest state of operational readiness.”
