Daily Independent (Lagos)
Andrew Airahuobhor
9 July 2009
Lagos — After a prolong battle to survive the undercurrents to remove him from office, strong indications emerged on Wednesday that the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Shamsideen Adegboyega Dosunmu, has been sacked by the Federal Government.
Competent sources in the Presidential Villa, Abuja confirmed that that President Umaru Yar'Adua on Tuesday night appointed Mr. Raymond Temsare Omatseye as Dosunmu's successor.
The President was also said to have approved the removal of the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of the agency, Dr. Danjuma Dabo, as well as the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Henry Abebe, leaving only Mr. Ishyaku Shekarau, the Executive Director Maritime Safety and Shipping Development.
As at press time, efforts to get confirmation from the agency proved abortive as Daily Independent was told that the agency was yet to be informed of the development.
Dosunmu, who was appointed Director General in 2007, following the removal of Mrs. Mfon Usoro has been engaged in survival battles with those opposed to his appointment.
Dosunmu will however be remembered for leading Nigeria back to the Council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and for initiating the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP); a scholarship programme aimed at encouraging Nigerians pick up careers in the shipping sector.
Under his administration, NIMASA also successfully completed works on the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (RMRCC) to coordinate search and rescue efforts for nine Anglophone countries in the West and Central African sub-region.
His regime will also be remembered for leading Nigeria to emerge as the first country in Africa and third in the world to issue the Seafarers Identity Document (SID) to its seafarers.
NIMASA has a very awful politics apparently because of the alleged stupendous wealth in the agency.
The organization has experienced greater instability at the leadership level than any other government organization in the transportation ministry.
Since the restoration of democracy in 1999, for instance, it has had six Director Generals. Each person was removed on alleged trump-up charges allegedly initiated and orchestrated by immediate subordinates too eager to assume leadership.
There has been flurry of criticism against the qualification of Dosunmu to head NIMASA because the NIMASA Act of 2007 stipulated qualifications of the Director General cum Chief Executive, that the candidate for this office must be someone who is steeped in the maritime industry as a maritime engineer, maritime surveyor, maritime lawyer, maritime administrator, maritime financier, maritime security expert, or maritime transporter.
Dosunmu was not considered a maritime professional, which opponents see as contrary to the provisions of NIMASA Act of 2007.
Although he did worked at NIMASA, but opponents see it as only for eight months and in the Finance Division. He is a sociologist.
He has also worked at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), as assistant general manager (AGM) for three years, but was saddled with pension management responsibilities and matters, which opponents said, had little or no bearing on maritime operations.
Recently, the agency encountered some problems with approval of its 2009 budget proposal at the Senate Committee on Marine Transport.
Seven months into the year, NIMASA's 2009 budget is yet to be approved by the National Assembly
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What is the effort of minister of transport to reduce the level of unemployment engrooved by Maritime Academy cadet?
What is the effort of minister of transport to reduce the level of unemployment engrooved by Maritime Academy cadet?
What is the effort of minister of transport to reduce the level of unemployment engrooved by Maritime Academy cadet?
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What is the effort of minister of transport to reduce the level of unemployment engrooved by Maritime Academy cadet?
What is the effort of minister of transport to reduce the level of unemployment engrooved by Maritime Academy cadet?