Why allegations of nepotism at NIMASA should be investigated

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) under Bashir Jamoh recently came under fire over allegations of nepotism at its zones. TOLA ADENUBI writes that though the agency responded by making public a list of its directorates, its response has not really addressed the issues raised.

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is the apex maritime regulatory agency in Nigeria. It came into being following the merger of National Maritime Authority Joint Labour Industrial Council and the Office of the Government Inspector of Shipping by the Federal Government administratively in 2001.

With the merger, the agency became the sole body responsible for regulations relating to Nigerian shipping, maritime labour and coastal waters. The agency also undertakes responsibility for maritime safety, security and the protection of the marine environment from ships.

Allegations of nepotism

Some of the staff of NIMASA, who spoke with an online medium (not Nigerian Tribune) recently, said since assumption of office in March 2020, Jamoh had consistently appointed only northerners to head most of the key positions in the agency.

According to the senior staffers, “All the four zones and Abuja Office of NIMASA are headed by northerners. The zones are Western Zone based in Lagos, Central Zone based in Warri, Eastern Zone based in Port Harcourt, Northern Zone based in Jos and the Abuja Office.

“The NIMASA Western Zone is headed by Kabir Munai from Katsina State. The Central Zone in Warri is headed by one Bappa M. Musa from Borno State. The Eastern Zone is headed by Yusuf Barde from Katsina State while the Northern Zone is headed by Waibe Auta from Plateau State. The NIMASA Abuja Office is also headed by a northerner named Musa Zalani Attah from Adamawa State.

“Also, all but one of the Port Service Controllers (PSC) in all the zones are northerners. They are Sani Zaria for Apapa and Abubakar Jiga for Ibeju Lekki, both under the Western Zone.

“The Port Service Controllers in the Eastern Zone are Nuhu Umar for Port Harcourt, Mohammed Ibrahim for Onne and Ibrahim Umar for Calabar while the Head of the Central Zone, Dappa M. Musa from Borno State, also acts as its Port Service Controller covering Oghara, Sapele, Burutu and Forcados. Only one out of the existing seven PSCs of the agency, Chizoba Anyika (Tin Can Island Port) is a southerner.”

The senior staff, who pleaded anonymity over fears of victimisation by the director-general, added that, “In most cases, these staff were not the most senior or most competent when he asked them to assume office as heads.

NIMASA’s reaction

Reacting to the allegation, NIMASA, in a statement signed by its Assistant Director, Public Relations, Osagie Edward, said that the online publication is subjective, smirking of mischief, skewed to achieve the goals of the fabricator and meant to mislead Nigerians.

He said, “Our attention has been drawn to a publication in an online medium with allegations of nepotism against the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) under the leadership of Dr Bashir Jamoh. I wish to state categorically that this publication is subjective, smirking of mischief, skewed to achieve the goals of the fabricator and meant to mislead Nigerians.

“It is worthy of note that the agency’s approved organogram has nine directorates and 11 autonomous units. At present, NIMASA has 12 directors with all but one of them promoted under Jamoh’s administration. The breakdown shows that five are from South-South, three from South-West, two from South-East and one each from North-East and North-West.

“We wish to put on record that the two directors promoted this year were both from southern Nigeria. This implies that the ratio of the agency’s director from south to north is 10:2, representing over 83 percent southern directors, as against less than 17 percent northern directors.

“The directors of Marine Environment Management Department, Special Duties, Data Management Services, Deep Blue and Secretary General of Abuja MoU are all from the South-South geopolitical zone. The South-West has directors of Internal Audit, SERVICOM, and Maritime Labour Services Western Zone, while the Directors of Cabotage and Planning and Research Departments are from the South-East. The North-East and North-West have one director each, heading the Western Zonal Region and the Reform Coordination Unit respectively.

“It is imperative to note that competent professionals from southern Nigeria are heading seven out of the eleven autonomous units of the agency including the agency’s spokesperson who is from South-South geopolitical zone.”

Way forward

While the statement by NIMASA gave the public a view of its directorate and their spread, the statement was silent on the issues of nepotism at the zones of the agency.

The NIMASA reaction focused more on the spread of its directorate rather than the issues raised by the angry workers as regards the leadership at the zones.

The statement also failed to address the allegations that only one out of the existing seven Port Service Controllers (PSC) of the agency is a southerner.

Also, the NIMASA statement failed to address the issue of all the four zones of the agency that were alleged to be under northerners.

Speaking on the development, a maritime lawyer, Emeka Akabogu, explained that nepotism in any government agency is demoralising and shouldn’t be encouraged.

“The argument of nepotism in NIMASA is an internal issue that I wouldn’t want to speak on since it doesn’t affect the maritime industry as a sub-sector. However, such shouldn’t be encouraged in any government agency where there is a widespread presence of different ethnic groups like NIMASA. If such happens, it should be discouraged and looked into,” Akabogu told the Nigerian Tribune exclusively.