• Stakeholders tip him for transport ministry
After narrowly missing a ministerial slot about 15 months ago, foremost master mariner and chief executive officer of Integrated Oil, and Gas Limited, Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho is set to make history as the first maritime industry practitioner to become a minister. He is likely to become the next minister of transport.
As it was when his name was clandestinely removed in December 2008 from the last list of ministers who had been pencilled down to work with President Umar Yar’ Adua, the nation’s maritime industry is once again agog with expectations of Iheanacho’s emergence as the next minister of transport.
Captain Ihenacho had narrowly lost the bid to the immediate past Governor of his home state, Chief Achike Udenwa who eventually became the minister of commerce and industry.
Already, our correspondent learnt over the weekend that Capt. Ihenacho has scaled all hurdles and he (alongside other nominees) is expected to appear before the Senate for screening on Tuesday, even as intense lobbying has reached a feverish pitch.
Shipping Position Weekly confirmed that Ihenacho is enjoying total support of law makers (Senate and House of Representatives) from his home state; Imo state and that unlike during his first shot at the exalted position; they are all solidly behind him.
One of the three Senators representing Imo state at the National Assembly who pleaded anonymity confirmed that he did not envisage any difficulties and that being a thoroughbred professional; he expected that Capt. Ihenacho would have no problem at the Senate screening.
Shipping Position Weekly recalls that shortly after he lost out in the high wire politicking which characterised the emergence of Chief Udenwa, Capt. Ihenacho told a select group of maritime journalists that he still had total faith in the ability of this country to get it right in the appointment of core professionals to help out in the match towards rebuilding the nation.
It was a visibly disappointed Capt. Ihenacho who narrated events that led to his name being removed from the list at the eleventh hour and how he was schemed out. He however declared that he has a genuine interest in serving the country with all his experiences as master mariner and a masters degree holder in many transport and business-related disciplines.
National President, Merchant Navy and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, Captain Thomas Kemewerigha told our correspondent over the weekend that the best thing that can happen to the nation’s transport sector is for the Senate to clear Captain Ihenacho and for Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan to hand the transport ministry to him.
According to him, the transport ministry has suffered in the hands of non-professional for long and it is only expected that haven been nominated, he would scale the remaining hurdles and emerge as the next transport minister.
Speaking in the same vein, the national president Institute of Transport Administration (IOTA) of Nigeria and foremost freight forwarder, Mr Lucky Amiwero described the nomination as “wonderful” and expected.
He lamented that the transport ministry has always been in the hands of non-professionals who will spend months learning from civil servants and consultants, but added that Capt. Iheanacho ; being a core professional would not need to start learning but to hit the ground running.
“Let them stop giving us Doctors, Pharmacists and all those people as ministers, a lot of things are suffering because of the appointment of non-professionals as ministers of transport”, he stressed, even as he singled out the implementation of Cabotage as one area that has suffered greatly because of non-professionals as ministers.
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