Palpable fear enveloped the nation’s maritime sector last week following the removal of Dr. Ade Dosunmu as the director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) by the Federal Government.
Dosunmu was removed after months of anxiety over his job and the speculations that government was planning a total shake up of the maritime agencies and that the transport ministry is already sourcing for replacement for the incumbent chief executives.
Out of the four major agencies in the maritime sector, it is only NIMASA and Nigerian Ports Authourity that are more highly coveted by ‘job seekers’, their god fathers and promoters.
Before Dosunmu, along with two of his executive directors were booted out on Wednesday, it had been rumoured that a certain man form the South- South region has been penciled down to take his job.
The same rumours had been making the rounds at the NPA where the job of the managing director, Malam Abdusallam Mohammed was said to be on the line. At a point last week, names of likely successors to Abdusallam were been touted, while tale bearers vowed that he had been removed and that the executive secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Capt Adamu Biu had been tipped to replace him.
Sources close to the ministry of transport however confirmed to Shipping Position Weekly that all the rumours were not unfounded and that as close as about three weeks ago, there had been plans to effect the changes. “The minister had convinced the President about the need to effect some changes, but I must confess to you, the hottest heat is on NIMASA”, the source disclosed.
He added that after the appointment of the incumbent minister, he was briefed by some interests about the maritime industry, “but he could not immediately swing anything until events at budget defence at the National Assembly, especially the Senate exposed the inadequacies in the management of some of these parastatals”.
“It is only NIWA and Shippers Council chief executives that are totally free at the moment, because the NIWA man was recently appointed while that of Shippers Council just got a second term approval”, he confided further, but added that the heat will be cooler now since all eyes are away from NIMASA.
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