There is palpable tension at the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), as a succession crisis is currently tearing the top leadership of the authority apart.
It was gathered that the immediate past managing director of NIWA, Dr George Moghalu’s tenure expired on Friday, 29th September, 2023, after spending four years.
However, the general managers are currently at loggerheads over who should head the authority in acting capacity pending when the federal government will announce a substantive MD.
The GMs are, acting GM Legal, Biyankare Naziru; acting GM Marine, Dakio Horsfall; GM Ports Services, Agbahi Fidelis; GM Finance and Accounts, Yusuf Girei and GM Area Offices Coordination, Engr. Fibersima Tamunokubie.
Other general managers are, Ag GM Internal Audit, Maisaje Japhet; Ag GM Engineering, Engr. Fidelis Ejike; Acting GM HR and Administration, Abdullahi Aliyu Dabai; Ag GM Research, Planning & Environment
Muazu Dan’ Azumi; Acting GM Procurement Ibrahim Isyaku Sade; Acting GM Corporate Affairs, Jibril Darda’u and Acting GM Survey, Surv. Henry Adimoha.
Recall that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, on 29th September, 2019, appointed Moghalu, a former auditor of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), for a first term of four years.
Moghalu is also the fourth MD of NIWA in the past seven years.
Other MDs of the authority since 1998 were, Engr. Diori Rubiu Abubakar (pioneer MD), Engr. Zabairu Yakubu, Mrs Chinese Ezenwa (A.g MD), Arch. Aminu Yar’adua, Hajia Mariam Ciroma, Boss Mustapha and Sen. Olorunimibe Mamora.
However, a group of aggrieved workers in NIWA in a chat with our Correspondent alleged that the former MD handed over to a Olawale so as to control him.
According to the aggrieved workers who craved anonymity because of fear of being victimised, said Olawale is a junior general manager and also a placeholder for the former MD who is pulling the strings in order to be reappointed for another four years by President Bola Tinubu.
The aggrieved workers, said Olawale who was earlier redeployed to Survey and Procurement department but was rejected because he has no eligible qualifications to head the departments.
They, however, said Olawale was redeployed to the Business Development directorate after he was rejected by the two departments.
“When he, Adetola Olawale, being an officer of the Surveys Department, was promoted to the position of general manager, in 2019, with effect from 2018, he was not eligible, since he was not a certified surveyor. Thus, after the promotion, he was deployed to head the procurement department, and this his posting was challenged also, since he is not a certified procurement professional, then he was deployed to head the Business Development Department.
“He was able to obtain his surveying certification, this year, and he appealed to the outgone MD, to let him be the substantive GM for Surveys Department; which he is not granted. Then, how come he became a General Manager, in 2019, when he was not a certified surveyor, and this, the Public Service Rules forbid,” the workers through their representative said.
“This is currently causing serious infighting and unhealthy rivalry. The minister should do something about it before it crashes the agency. Olawale Adetola is a junior general manager, he can’t be acting over his superior no one should desecrate the institution called NIWA. Also, the minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, should help us before it gets out of hand,” the aggrieved workers stated.
However, when contacted, the acting general manager, Corporate Affairs, Jibril Darda’u, said there was no crisis in the agency.
According to him, Olawale is the most senior director and has since started work in the authority.
“No succession crisis in NIWA, Olawale remained the most senior of all the GM’s in NIWA,” he stated in an enquiry from our correspondent.
Meanwhile, a Marítime support group, Maritime Ambassador of Nigeria (MAN), has called on the Federal Government to appoint a professional as substantive managing director for the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) for effective service delivery.
This, according to them, will be in tandem and complementary to the newly established Ministry of Blue Economy, under President Bola Tinubu.
The group said previous MDs failed to live up to expectations, because rather than appoint professionals, NIWA headship became political patronage.
They berated the outgoing MD, Dr George Moghalu, whose four year tenure recently came to an end.
They made their position known on Monday at the sideline of the expiration of Moghalu’s exit from NIWA, as MD/CEO, alleging that he hurriedly handed over last week Friday in Lokoja, the agency’s headquarters.
Spokesperson of the group, Yekeen Abdullahi said such political patronage has hindered the agency from fulfilling her mandates.
They said that the challenges facing NIWA can only be solved by entrenching the culture of appointing professionals, who have come through the ranks, to lead the NIWA.
The statement read: “It is of great concern to us that NIWA has been singled out for political patronage. How can a non professional address the numerous challenges of the maritime industry. It is a long time established axiom that no one can give what he doesn’t have.
“When an agency is turned into a place where people are being rewarded when they lose elections, or reserved for political patronage, then the focus and main objective of such agency is lost.
“It is quite disturbing that NIWA has been singled out for political patronage. It is basically garbage in and garbage out, and such a system will not last, because there is no focused leadership. You cannot expect to get a different result if you’re doing the same thing over and over again.
“The worst of them all is George Moghalu who was rewarded for losing an election in Anambra State. Moghalu, since his appointment on October 7, 2019 has no interest in NIWA issues. He was always away politicking about becoming governor of Anambra. It is a great relief that he was not reappointed.
“However, we urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do right by the agency. There are many professionals in NIWA who are already at directors’ level.”
Meanwhile, amid the succession crisis about 30 persons were feared dead on Monday as a boat capsized in a river in Yauri Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
The Chairman of Yauri Local Government Area, Bala Yauri, who confirmed the incident to the Voice of Nigeria (VON), said the incident, which involved 50 passengers, had left the residents in the local government in deep sorrow.
Yauri said efforts were in top gear by local divers to locate the corpses of the passengers who drowned in the river.
“From the information I gathered, more than 50 persons were involved in the accident while some of them escaped, but as of now that I am talking to you, over thirty of them are still trapped in the river.
“We have mobilised the local divers to try and locate bodies of the victims for proper evacuation and possibly befitting burials in accordance with Islamic rights.
“The boat, as I heard, carried passengers who are mostly traders from either Niger State or Kebbi State alongside foodstuffs for sell before the unfortunate incident”
Alhaji Sani Yauri, an eye witness, confirmed that the accident was caused by a heavy wind which resulted in the driver losing control of the boat.
“I was there when the incident happened, it was as a result of heavy wind which resulted in the driver of the boat losing control and it capsized immediately.”
