The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC); Mr Emmanuel Jime has confirmed the presence of rivalry among government agencies in the maritime sector.
Jime while speaking during the Maritime Appreciation Dinner organised by the League of Maritime Editors in honour of the immediate past Minister of Transportation; Muazu Jaji Sambo and the immediate past Minister of state; Prince Ademola Adegoroye specifically pointed out how the implementation of the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) by the NSC caused inter-agency rivalry among heads of agencies in the sector, whom he regarded as friends.
He confirmed that many of the friends did not want the idea of NSC leading the implementation of the CTN that led to the struggle about who should implement the CTN
He however said the Minister insisted that NSC under his watch will be given the implementation of the CTN and went ahead and did everything using the political will available to make sure that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the CTN for NSC to implement.
He described NSC as the greatest beneficiary of the short tenure of the two Ministers.
According to him: “The impact that both of you have made in your public career leading all of us, If you haven’t been impactful particularly for those of us in the maritime sector all probably you would have been hearing tonight is this is “Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish”. But the reason all of us are gathered tonight to celebrate and appreciate you is because you have left in your trail distinction of public life, you have left in your trail legacies that you will be remembered for as long as the ministry of transportation is concerned.
“For us at NSC, I will say with all due sense of responsibility that if there’s any of the agencies in the maritime space that can claim to have had the most positive impact on its exercise or mandate it has to be NSC.
“Ironically when Sambo was announced as Minister of transportation, we went quickly to dig his background and it was clear to us that he was actually an industry individual haven served at NPA and concluded his service at NIWA
“So for those of us at NSC there was an immediate concern there was a fear that maybe due to his background; that maybe he will be biased in the ways and manners he was going to lead us in this ministry, but none of that, no bias whatsoever, as a matter of fact, I can say here in the NSC, we benefited the most in terms of the support that we got from him.
“If you all will remember there’s a Cargo Tracking Note and then we struggle about the lead of this particular platform.
“You know I don’t want to stand here and lie to us, you see there is inter-agency rivalry among us, I know quite a lot of our friends that didn’t actually really want the idea of NSC implementing the CTN
“When Muazu Sambo came first thing he did as soon as he interacted with me was that he said ‘ES the NSC under my watch will be given the implementation of the CTN and he went ahead and did everything using the political and capital available to make sure that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the CTN for NSC; not only did he get the approval he ensured that NSC was given the right of implementation’”, he told the garthering.
Speaking also at the event the Managing Director of NPA, Muhammed Bello Koko noted that he had a bad start with the Minister owing to those who were whispering all sorts of things to the Minister describing the beginning of their relationship as a horrible experience
He however said he was happy to have understood him, describing him as a man of value. He described him as a man who have the love of Nigerians at heart
On his part, the Director General NIMASA; Dr. Bashir Jamoh described the immediate past Minister as a robust leader with a sense of clear direction, he said the Minister did not come to the public service for him to grab what he wanted, but to serve.
He said Sambo is a man who has the love of Nigerians at heart.
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