NIMASA DG moves against Akpobolokemi –as he removed alliesof former DG from key positions

FUNSO OLOJO

The war of attrition which is playing out at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA) since the removal of Patrick Akpobolokemi, the erstwhile Director-General of the agency, took a new twist last week when the new helmsman, Haruna Baba Jauro, carried out a major redeployment of some key staff of the agency.

Jauro, who clawed his way to the number one position in the agency, has carried out this major restructuring exercise barely hours after he assumed power at the super- rich agency.

Hallmark learnt that the disposition, which was seen as very strategic to his survival in the battle of supremacy in the agency,  was meant to enable him dig his feet deeper in to the main stream system.

The reshufflement, it was learnt, was targeted at the ”foot- a soldiers” of Akpobolokemi who were said to have been strategically placed in some positions in the agency.

The political calculations of the new helmsman was to remove these ”loyal” staff of the erstwhile DG who source said the new DG feared may undermine his authority and performance in the agency.

According to the statement released by the new Public Relatios Officer of the agency, HajiaLamiTumaka, Mr. Ibrahim Jibril and Mr. OlayemiAbass are now the directors/heads of Administration and Personnel Services and Financial Services respectively.

Others are Mr. Felix Bob Nabena who is Director of SERVICOM, Mr. SulemanAbdulsalam is the Ag. Legal Adviser, Mr. Mohammed Sani is the Head of Procurement Department while Hassan el-Yakub is Head of Cabotage Department.

HajiaLamiTumaka has been re-appointed the Deputy Director/Head of Public Relations, Aisha Musa has been redeployed to Head the Western Zone, Mr. IsicheiOsamgbi is now Deputy Director, Maritime Guard Command, Mr. Dele Ejekuko is in charge of Zones in the DG’s Office and Mr. Eric Orji is the Acting Registrar of Ships.

The analysis of the reshufflement exercise shows that the recent disposition involved some of the loyalists of the erstwhile DG while the subsequent exercise, which the new helmsman is set to carry out, will involve other Akpbolokemi’s loyalists.

Mr. Felix Bob Nabena, who was redeployed to head the less sensitive SERVICOM, was a director of Administration and personnel department.

LamiTumaka,for a strange reason, was banished two years ago from being the head of Corporate Affairs Department to head Coast Guard by Akpobolokemi and replaced her with OsamgbeIsichie, who was redeployed from the Abuja office of the agency.

However, in the recent disposition exercise, the two Deputy Directors were made to swap position. While Haji Tumaka was returned to her familiar turf as the head of the Corporate Affairs, Osamgbi was taken to Coast Guard.

Both Osamgbi and Nebena were among the staff who some aggrieved staff of the agency alleged were inappropriately engaged by the erstwhile DG.

In a petition sent to the presidency at the twilight of the tenure of Akpobolokemi, the aggrieved NIMASA staff accused the former University teacher of using strange and unorthodox method to recruit staff, a method which they claimed was alien to the tenets and norm of civil service.

According to them, the former DG used consultants to engage the services of many staff who were allegedly from his kingsmen and promoted them above the existing staff.

They mentioned such staff as EnsuohWarredi, Director of Shipping Development from Delta, South-South, Felix Bob-Nabena, former Special Assistant to Akpobolokemi before his promotion as Director of Administration until his redeployment to SERVOCOM. He is from Bayelsa, in South-South ,Femowei Abel Gbendor from Bayelsa, South-South, OsamgbiIsichie, former Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs who is from Delta, South-South  and UmorenMicheal from AkwaIbom, South-South.

Gha Lawrence from Bayelsa , South South, James Eyo, from  AkwaIbom, South-South,OweiErena from Bayelsa, South-South,Amula Arnold from Bayelsa, South-South, Governor Juan Amechee from Bayelsa, South-South, OmoOtongEkong Sunday from AkwaIbom, South-South, UgoFedricIkiomotol from Bayelsa, South-South and UbongAbasildoremyin from AkwaIbom,  South-South.

Others are EdubiokiniyiEdet from AkwaIbom, South-South and EleiGreenlgbogi from Bayelsa, South-South.

It was gathered that even though the acting DG may not have the power of the substantive DG to correct some of these perceived irregularities, but he was said to have vowed to use all that within his statutory powers to upturn most of the appointments which the formed DG carried out under questionable circumstance.

This redeployment is one of the ways to correct some of these anomalies he inherited and for which has generated bad blood among the staff. There would be more of such disposition in the days ahead”, an inside source confided in Hallmark.