Following his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari, Haruna Jauro has formally taken ovser the leadership of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) from Calistus Obi.
Obi emerged acting director-general of the maritime agency last week following the directive of the federal government that Ziakede Akpobolokemi, who was recently relieved of his position, hand over to the most senior official in the agency.
But having resumed 24 hours ahead of Obi, Jauro claimed seniority protesting the refusal to hand over to him.
However, in a statement issued on Monday, Isichei Osamgbi, NIMASA’s deputy director and head, public relations, confirmed that Jauro is now in charge of the agency.
Osamgbi said a formal hand over took place on Monday and that Obi pledged to support Jauro.
“Obi has assured that the excellent working relationship between him and the acting director-general will be sustained in order to lift NIMASA to greater heights,” the statement read.
“Jauro had expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for the opportunity to serve the nation in his new capacity.
“He thanked staff of the agency for their commitment to duty and sought their cooperation toward the realisation of the mandate of the agency.”
Jauro was the executive director, finance and administration in the agency.
However, these has not gone well with some people, who are crying fowl play over the immediate need for change of DG by the President. One politician from Anambra State speaking in Anonymity told reporters that he and other igbos are extremely troubled by President Buhari’s action on the leadership of NIMASA.
“Anybody who knows about maritime issues can tell you that Callistus Obi is very knowledgeable,” said the source, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. He added, “Why would Mr. President remove him after just a few days, even though he was appointed in an acting capacity? What was the hurry in firing him? And it is interesting that Alhaji Jauro’s appointment is also in acting capacity.”
These is also now affecting the members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who told journalists of their concern that Mr. Buhari’s appointments so far “have been more than 90% in favor of northerners and Muslims.”
Mr Buhari had last week said that he should not be expected to treat areas that gave him 97% of their votes the same way as those that gave him only five percent. After realizing the political implications of his reckless statement, the Nigerian president made a belated attempt to correct the faux pas.
