From left: President, League of Maritime Editors, Chief Timothy Okorocha, Minister of Transport, Mu’azu Sambo and another stakeholder during an appreciation night organised in honour of the Minister and Minister of State, Prince Ademola Adegoroye by the League in Lagos at the weekend.

It was a rare night of glamour as stakeholders in Nigeria’s transport sector on Friday in Lagos, took their turn to shower encomiums on the immediate past Minister of Transport, Mu’ azu Sambo and the Minister of State, Prince Ademola Adegoroye for what they termed their sterling performances albeit within a short time.

Mu’azu Sambo and Adegoroye were appointed about 10 months ago to superintendent over the ministry, which followed the resignation of the then Minister, Rotimi Amaechi to pursue his presidential ambition while Senator Gbemi Saraki was redeployed as Minister of State for Works.

Speaking at a maritime industry appreciation dinner organised by the League of Maritime Editors, President of the association, Chief Timothy Okorocha extolled the sterling leadership qualities of Sambo and the spirit of comradery between him and his colleague minister of state, which led to tremendous achievements even within a very short period of time.

He listed the approval for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund CVFF by former President Muhammadu within a period of nine weeks, saying that the disbursement of the fund had been stalled for over 20 years. He also listed the reinforcement of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme NSDP, a pet project of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, which led to the sending of over 300 Nigerian youths to Greece, Norway and other countries on maritime-related training courses.

Okorocha said: “We are here this evening to celebrate the peerless contributions and hard work of the immediate past Minister, Sambo. The uncommon comradery that existed between Sambo and Adegoroye is an epitome of grace in leadership. This, has in no small measure promoted respect, efficiency and productivity, thus, overall transformational change in the country’s shipping industry.”

The president, who also led the observing of a minute silence for two maritime journalists; late Ray Ugochukwu and Emmanuel Adegbe, prayed God for the repose of their souls and grant the families the fortitude and strength to bear the irreparable loss.

Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Hon. Emmanuel Jime, while speaking at the event, noted that he had a harmonious working relationship with the Ministers. While citing the approval for the reintroduction of the Cargo Tracking Note CTN, which was suspended about eight years ago, he observed that this feat remained a game-changer in Nigeria’s quest towards cargo security.

On his part, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, who described the Ministers as goal- getters, noted that apart from the initial turbulence and rough ride that characterised his early relationship with Sambo due to the activities of ‘Menafuns’, it has been a great pleasure working with them, as he has learnt so much from the duo.

He assured the Ministers that the management of the NPA under his watch would continue to pursue the burning desire in transforming Nigeria’s seaports into a regional hub by promoting automation, renewing port infrastructure, deepening the equipment fleet and overall enhancing efficient service delivery and customer satisfaction.

Also, Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation NRC, Engr. Fidet Okhiria, who also spoke during the event, expressed pleasure with working with the Ministers and prayed God to bless them in their future endeavours.

 Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who insisted that the agency remains the greatest beneficiary of the Ministers’ purposeful and transformational leadership qualities, cited the ability to secure permanent office accommodation for the agency at its Abuja liaison office and its regional office in Port Harcourt under their guidance.

In addition to securing the presidential approval for the disbursement of the CVFF and training of over 300 Nigerian youths under the NSDP programme, the DG also listed the acquisition of additional patrol platforms and staff ferries for members of staff, among others.

The event was chaired by the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Boss Mustafa, who was represented by the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Tolu Odebibi while the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Education, Hon. Lynda Ikpeazu was also in attendance. Others include former Director General of the National Maritime Authority NMA, Ferdinand Agu, President, Nigeria Chamber of Shipping, Aminu Umar, among several other stakeholders in the transport sector.

A high point of the event was the presentation of awards to deserving individuals.