Crisis of confidence is brewing at the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy as some heads of Parastatals are openly sabotaging the works of the minister, Adegboyega Oyetola
Whereas Oyetola, the immediate past governor of Osun State, is determined to implement the renewed agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as it affects the blue economy, it was learnt that some entrenched interests have constituted themselves into a huge obstacle.
The new ministry, which was carved out from the Ministry of Transportation, has the Nigeria Ports Authority as the leading Parastatal, which is supposed to drive the initiative enunciated by the Minister.
However, it was gathered that the current Management of NPA, led by Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, is resisting the changes being initiated by the minister to shore up revenue and expand its operations.
For instance, Dantsoho is said to have opposed the expansion of the operations of NPA as a way of portraying the minister as incompetent.
A source within NPA informed that Dantsoho is still loyal to Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman, who was the MD between 2016 and 2021.
She was forced out of NPA following her open disobedience to the then Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
It was gathered that Usman has hinted the management of NPA that she was going to be appointed the new minister of Marine and Blue Economy, hence their loyalty is to her.
” You know that Dantsoho worked under her before. His loyalty is with her and not with the current minister. This is adversely affecting the operations of the ministry “, a staff confided.
The staff regretted that the MD is treating the minister with a lot of disdain and that the presidency has not acted to check the excesses while the Ministry suffers.
The staff noted with regret that while Dantsoho pretends to be loyal to Oyetola , he actually frustrates him by hiding from him vital files and information that ought to lead to the smooth running of the ministry.
Checks further revealed that because Hadiza Bala Usman is connected to a former president and some northern power brokers, Oyetola is cautious in reporting her and Dantsoho to the presidency.
However, the matter may soon come to a head as some staff of NPA have vowed to stage a protest against Dantsoho, except he starts to respect the authority of the supervising minister
