The Chief Executive Officer of Ships and Ports Communication Company, Mr Bolaji Akinola, on Monday said the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has had 10 director-generals since May 1999.
Akiola, who stated this in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, said NIMASA “is at the heart of the growth and development of the nation’s maritime industry”.
According to him, NIMASA is responsible for not only regulating shipping activities and dock labour but also for developing Nigeria’s tonnage.
“Unfortunately, the agency has consistently failed to deliver on its mandate since inception. The failure of NIMASA is the failure of the maritime industry and a disservice to the Nigerian economy.
“Two factors stand out strongly for the failure of NIMASA over the years. One is leadership instability while the other is the undue politicisation of appointments into the Board and top Management positions of the agency,” he said.
Akinola said that the offices of the director-general and those of the executive directors had been most hit by politics.
The maritime expert noted that before the appointment of Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi as Head of the agency in December 2010, there had been too frequent changes in the leadership of NIMASA.
“In the history of the nation’s apex maritime regulatory body, only two people were appointed from within the organisation as substantive chief executive officers.
“The first was Mr John Egesi. Unfortunately, Egesi spent barely three months in office before he was replaced in 1999 as a result of series of political intrigues.
“The second was Dr Ade Dosunmu from May 2007 to July 2009.
“Mr George Eneh took over from Egesi. He was in office for less than a year before his replacement by Mr Ferdinand Agu.
“Agu had the fortune of heading the agency for over four years. The Cabotage Act was passed during his tenure and he was …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
