Abegunde tajudeen (Dock Worker)
I have not seen anything that the man has done so I do not think I can appraise him, what significant changes has he made since he assumed office? It definitely seems as if some few individuals in the country do not want the maritime industry to grow because of what they benefit from the foreign shipping companies, the foreign companies have influenced them. Look at the number of committees that we have in the sector yet there is no implementation, which make me to believe that perhaps some of these foreigners may be influencing the minister. Secondly look at the indigenous practitioners, there is no intervention fund for many of them, which of the indigenous shipping lines can afford to buy a new ship or provide necessary infrastructure that assist the growth of the sector, these are the things that I believe he should initiate. Again the port access roads are still in the same bad shape, what most of them do is to conduct a single tour of the port on assumption of office and the rest is forgotten.
Daniel Williams [FFAN P.R.O]
The man is a material from the maritime industry so far, because he is a product of NIMASA. Talking about his assessment, I think so far we might say we have not seen much, but with what is going on right now, we can say that he has tried because barely a year he has proven to stakeholder s that he can perform. The man is on an appointment not an election, he can be re-appointed so that he continues with what he has at hand. I cannot say I will score the minister 80 percent but he has tried to some certain level. With the committees we have seen that are working, so far he has tried. There are some evidences to show for his efforts. Alhaji Suleiman Yusuf has been able to work round the clock to remove wrecks from the channels and we all know it is on going right now. With the short period in office, I will say 60 percent but if given another chance, he will certainly do more.
Victor Obinna [License customs agent]
We all know the minister of transport has proven himself due to the fact that he knows his onions and to this end, I can say that within the little time in office he has done one or two remarkable things that have gingered this sector. We know that as the minister of transport, there is land and also railways to attend to, but how often do you hear about capital projects on land and rail for now. It is the sea transport that he has concentrated heavily on because it generates thehigh interest to the economy.
I will say he has given his best in the short time that he has been in charge. I don’t know where to fault him, if not for the fact that as Nigerians, we will always look for away to fault someone.
Ugochukwu Nnadi (Chairman, NAGAFF, PTML)
They should allow the maritime industry to be properly organized, particularly in the freight forwarding sector of the maritime industry, there should be a coordination whereby terminal operators are monitored and controlled. A situation whereby nobody controls them creates problems. The terminal operators have been there all along without anybody controlling them, and what is the minister doing about it? If you look at even the law setting up the NPA and its operations, it is flawed in itself, look at the port access roads and for how long it has been difficult to do it, then you will understand that so many things are wrong. I might just commend him for continuing with the wrecks removal exercise which some people would have neglected on getting into the seat, other areas that I have seen his impact is the ministerial committee on port charges, they did a good job, but we are yet to see their impact on the issue at hand, he has a good intention, but it is the outcome that determines it all.
Olu Olasore (Gemtrade Int’l limited)
The things I expected from the minister of transport, I have not started seeing them; we have not seen the effect of setting up the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), the purpose of that council is to regulate the freight forwarding sector, FIATA can not come and regulate it for us, we seem to have neglected that important function of regulation, or how many years are we going to take in registering freight forwarders? Let the minister of transport ensure that the CRFFN is seen to be performing its functions by regulating the freight forwarding sector. If NPA is removing wrecks from the waterways, it is their duty and the duty of the minister, so we have not seen anything special in that, it is their job and that is what they are set up to do. I believe that the CRFFN should be the voice of the freight forwarders, we should know who will be regulating the freight forwarders’ activities, is it Customs or the CRFFN, normally the Act says they are to do this, is the renewal of license going to be continued by the Customs or the CRFFN? Let us have the clarifications.
Sampson Chima [NIS Registrar]
My take is that he has done well since he came on board. Being an experienced person, somebody who has worked in the industry for long and there are some tremendous changes and achievements that we have witnessed since he came on board as a minister. I will say Kudos to him and he should keep it up. What we believe is whoever that is in charge of the ministry should be a practitioner or a professional; these are the kind of people we need to propel the sector forward.
Andrew Uzo [Stakeholder]
To assess the minster of transportation, we will also look at those that propose the budget, who finance the budget and those who monitor the budget .The minister does not work alone, he has a team that work with him, so it will take a while for him to complete or execute some basic projects. Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman has done well; although there must be critics. My candid opinion about his appraisal is that he has carried out a wonderful work in the area of wreck removal, now, how many ministers of transport remember that it is dangerous to sail in Nigeria waters for the fact that ships that have wrecked can lead to major accident in our waters. I want to believe that the budget for the minister is either to execute projects or maintain the ones on ground. As a practitioner in the sector, if he is given more time, he will do more because he is surrounded by people who will give him good advice to move the maritime sector forward. Kudos to him I must commend his effort.
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