The Chief Executive Officer of Ships & Ports, Dr Bolaji Akinola, has condemned the spate of nepotism in the country’s maritime industry.
In a statement, Bolaji said that politicians jostle for appropriate top positions in government agencies they perceived to be cash cows.
He maintained that nepotism has negatively affected the growth of the sector, as appointments were mostly for self-aggrandisement and contract procurement purposes.
“When people complain about the poor development of the maritime industry, they fail to see the nexus between the underdevelopment of the industry and underachieving CEOs who owe their appointments to familial and political links rather than merit.
“Without a doubt, the outputs of the CEOs of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, National Inland Waterways Authority and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria have been suboptimal,” he alleged.
The maritime expert said the underachieving chief executives had failed the industry.
He appealed to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to treat maritime issues differently from his predecessor’s handling of the industry.
