Federal Government has pledged to provide N24 million to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to boost its campaign against piracy and illicit maritime activities in Africa, a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by Yetunde Sonaike, Deputy Director, Press, Federal Ministry of Transport, has said.

The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, made the pledged when he paid a courtesy visit on the IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizuat, at the organisation’s headquarters in London.

The minister who was attending the on-going 112th Council Session of the IMO in Londan, expressed federal government’s appreciation for the organisation’s technical cooperation and assistance to Africa, and Nigeria in particular.

He thanked the IMO Secretary-General for establishing a Maritime Security Trust Fund to fight piracy and illicit maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea.

The statement said the minister pledged 100,000 dollars for the maritime fund on behalf of the government, and another 50,000 dollars for the organisation’s technical cooperation fund.

It said that Umar assured the IMO of Nigeria’s readiness to collaborate with it in the upcoming audit scheme which, he said, was in line with IMO’s instrument code regime of 2015.

In his response, Sekimizu reiterated his determination to ensure that all necessary assistance was given to Nigeria to develop its maritime sector.

He pledged IMO’s technical cooperation and assistance to Nigeria, and solicited Nigeria’s support for IMO activities, including its forthcoming audit scheme.