New Transport Minister Assumes Office, Says ‘I’m Back Home’

The newly appointed Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, has assumed office as the new head of the ministry, following a minor cabinet reshuffle by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The minister, who resumed duty at the ministry’s headquarters on Wednesday, said he was already feeling at home at the ministry because he started his career in the maritime sector in 1984 and went through different sections of the ministry.

He further assured the ministry that he has come to work and ensure the continuation of the tasks given to him by the president.

According to him, “it is a pleasure to be here. I would like to say it is a pleasure to be back home. I started my life in the maritime industry, NPA precisely in 1984 and I went through other sectors of the economy and ended up in the National Inland Waterways Authority.

“I am back home for this reason. I also feel I am back because somebody whispered to me that the permanent secretary happened to have gone through the same secondary school I went through which is the Federal Government College Maiduguri.

“I want to tell you that I am here only for a very short time. I don’t want to cause problem for anyone. I don’t want anybody also to cause problem for me. I will not look for your trouble but if you look for mine, I will give you tenfold, that is me but we can live together for 50 years without a quarel if you know me.

“So, I am coming with an open mind. There is nothing under the sun you won’t hear when you are moving to a place but the best thing is, let it enter through the right ear and go out through the left. Meet the people with an open mind and let God take control. This is the way I am coming into this house (ministry) and I want you to also embrace me and give me all the support and don’t let me wish that I had remained in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing even as a Minister of State but I am sure the permanent secretary will make sure that that does not happen.”

Speaking on the next level of work and action, he said “we will look for the low hanging fruits and make sure that we put them on the table as quickly as possible.”

Earlier, while speaking, the outgone minister of state, Transportation, Gbemi Saraki, who handed over the ministry to Sambo, urged the directors and staff of the ministry to work well with the new minister in order to move the nation forward.