Association blames inactivity at NIWA on lack of substantive MD

The Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA) has called on the Federal Government to appoint a substantive chief executive officer to head the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) as the agency cannot effectively perform its regulatory role without someone at the helm.

The seafarers union further condemned Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, for failing to appoint a new managing director for NIWA before the inauguration of agency’s governing board.

President of the NMNOWTSSA, Matthew Alalade, therefore tasked the government to, as a matter of urgency, appoint a technocrat who is versed in maritime activities as new CEO of NIWA.

According to him, six months without a substantive head would drag NIWA operations backward and make the relationship between the board and the acting management awkward.

He stated that the delay by government to appoint a substantive head constitutes a clog in the wheel of progress of activities in inland water transportation in the country.

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According to Alalade, “Though our members under the NIWA branch are yet to complain about the agency’s activities in Lokoja, it is not proper for such an agency to exist without a substantive head for six months after the exit of Boss Mustapha.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had in October last year, appointed Boss Mustapha, the former MD of NIWA, as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

“Maybe the government of the day does not regard NIWA as a vital agency in the transportation ministry. That is why they are not bothered in any way to appoint a new MD to replace somebody like Boss Mustapha who is still at the heart of the Buhari administration,” Alalade added.

Last month, Amaechi inaugurated the governing board of some maritime agencies, including NIWA.