Owolabi Omotayo (Chairman, MWUN, Liverpool unit)
Owolabi Omotayo (Chairman, MWUN, Liverpool unit)
Appointing the heads of our parastals should not be about tribal or ethnicity backgrounds, what is more important is that we choose the best, as far as I am concerned, the best man can come from anywhere, we are all one Nigeria, let the right man that will stop corruption at the agency be appointed there because this country has been plagued by corruption, it is because of corruption that we are currently going through all these fuel scarcity today, competency and integrity should replace tribal sentiments and nepotism.
Akanni Balogun (ANLCA, Tin Can Chapter)
The position of Managing Director at the Nigerian Ports Authority has been deliberately reserved for a particular section of the country, you will recall that when Bode George was the Chairman of NPA, that was how they brought in Architect Aminu Dabo? from Kano, then you will begin to wonder, does it mean that NPA headship is reserved for Kano indigenes at the expense of others? The situation is baffling everybody, it is a situation that in Nigeria today some people are being given advantage over others, definitely this man they brought in now is not a professional, this is where we are always disorganized, government will leave out the professionals and prefer to go for political appointments at the expense of experience and expertise, definitely the result is going to be disastrous, this is exactly the same appointment that initiated the corruption that made Bode George to be involved, this is because they brought an MD that does not understand the working of the Nigerian Ports Authority. My advice is for government to bring in a seasoned professional, when Sarumi was there he was a professional, he started from being an assistant manager, to general manager and he eventually became the Managing Director, but when he was removed for inexperienced guys, you can see the calamity that befell the NPA. We should stop pacifying people with positions that they know nothing about, and this is why we are having a problem.
Fred Ajuzie (Apapa Chairman, NAGAFF)
President Jonathan that appointed him there is from the South-South, so I don't think there is any tribalism here?, if a South-South man can be discussing with Kano people on a key position, I don't think there is anything wrong with it, we are all Nigerians and we shouldn't tribalize appointments. What we are looking for is performance, the former MD there, I don't think he performed and that was why he was removed, the government that is appointing MDs should look at their performance, if people from the North are not performing then there should be changes, but I know that the new government will do something about it.
Okechukwu Vincent (Member, PCC)
In Nigeria, certain things have political undertone, they allotted certain ministries to certain people, if you watch the trend? in certain organizations, you will see that no Southerner or Westerner has been there, it is only a particular tribe. My own take is that it does not matter where the person comes from, his competency to do the job is what matters, the greatest problem this country has is the politicization of everything, when you bring somebody who does not know anything about port operations to run a port, he will not succeed because he knows nothing about it, the person will now spend another one year or two learning the rudiments of port operations.
Comrade Benson Adegbeyeni (President SSACTAC)
It is simply because the government chooses to do whatever they like and there is little we can say about that. I am not a minister and I am not in the corridor of power thus the appointment of any CEO of agency under the maritime sector ought to be based on competence of industry practitioners. The problem we have in Nigeria is that appointments are is based on knowing me and knowing you. The Kano syndrome is on ground for long, but we only hope and pray for a change which we all is about to experience in the coming weeks.
Emmanuel Akide (Deputy President, NCMDLCA)
I believe it is based on political decision and to ensure harmony among the politicians up there. Our oligarchy friends are used for strategic arrangement, where they do very little and take all the money. We have good hands in NPA who can head the agency but politics have made the place what it is today. It is painful to note that NPA is not what it is because of politics, it is the heartbeat of the economy yet government is joking with it.
Mrs Rose Okorocha (Freight Forwarder)
I think there is a need to look into such things properly by the incoming administration because for a very long time the Kano indigenes have benefited a lot from that position. I think that such key positions should be designed for people who understand the industry; irrespective of state, ethnicity, tribe, culture and geo-political zone of the country. It is bad for government to allow a particular state to head NPA for a long time and the earlier we make the government to realise this, the better.
Mr. Andrew Airahuobhor (Maritime Journalist)
I don't think that such position is zoned to Kano state, though it might be coincidental because overtime we have had MDs of NPA from that state. Though it might be deliberate but the fact remains that we need someone who has the ability and technical knowhow to mount such position; not because you are from a particular zone of the country and I think that is what is missing in the country. A situation where you appoint people from a particular area without the wherewithal to perform in the position brings about incompetence. There is nothing spectacular about the new MD because his CV speaks volume and I don't think it is going to be easy for him to handle a technical position like that of the MD of NPA.
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