The eyewitness reporterThe skylight of the beautiful Eko Hotels was abuzz with excitement. Its cozy ambiance was saturated with glitz and glamour.

From one of its halls came a bellow of tributes which oozed through the giant doors of the hall and blended with the serene environment of the prestigious hotel.

It was a night of tributes for Alhaji Muazu Jaji Sambo, the immediate past  Minister of Transportation, and the Minister of State, Barrister  Ademola Adewole Adegoroye.

It was a night the League of Maritime Editors decided to appreciate the short but impactful tenure of these gentlemen at the helms of affairs of the ministry.

It was a night the maritime stakeholders and Heads of the government agencies in the industry decided to say thank you to the men whose short but eventful tenure triggered a positive development in the industry.

So, on June 9th, 2023, the League of Maritime Editors organised what it called an appreciation dinner in honour of the immediate past ministers in the transportation ministry and feted them for a job well done.

It was an event that attracted the cream of the maritime industry, top government officials and members of the National Assembly.The roll call of the guests was impressive.

Boss Mustapha, the immediate past Secretary to the  Government of Federation (SGF) was represented. Mrs. Linda Ikpeazu, the immediate past Chairman, House Committee on Marine Transport graced the occasion.

Also in attendance was a full complement of the Heads of government agencies in the industry which includes Dr Bashir Jamoh, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Emmanuel Jime, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Fidet  Okhiria, the Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mrs. Chinyere Uromta, the Acting Registrar of the Council for the Regulations of Freight Forwarding Practice in Nigeria (CRFFN).

The event also attracted Messr Callistus Obi and Ferdinand Agu, both former NIMASA DGs.

Engineer Greg Ogbeifun led the Shipping community.

The two former Ministers, whom the night of honour was meant for, sat in their full regalia, soaking all the encomiums and eulogies showered on them.

Mrs Magdalene Ajani, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation also shared in the limelight.Chief Timothy Okorocha, the host President of the League of Maritime Editors, opened his welcome address on a sober note when he asked the august gathering to observe one-minute silence to give the last respect to two members of the maritime media confraternity, Messrs Ray Ugochukwu and Emma Adegbe, who departed to higher glory.

Thereafter, the night’s activities picked up and escalated to a high-pitched crescendo when speaker after speaker spoke glowingly of the two Ministers.

Earlier, Chief Okorocha told his audience that the maritime media decided to honour Sambo and Adegoroye for their impactful and effective leadership in the Ministry of Transportation which triggered a chain of positive achievements within so short a time in the maritime sector.

Okorocha ran through the list of achievements made under the short stint of the two men as Ministers, which Sambo fondly referred to as low-hanging fruits.

These include but not limited to the resolution of the nutty issue of the disbursement of the controversial Cabotage Vessels Financing Funds(CRFFN), the resuscitation of the jinxed Cargo Tracking Note(CTN) and other projects executed and commissioned during Sambo’s 10 -month stint as a Minister.

Okorocha said the event was meant to honour the hard work, commitment and dedication of the two former Ministers and to encourage other public officials.

He noted that in as much as journalists are critical of government officials and always ensure they are held accountable, he said journalists are also sensitive to the efficient and impactful leadership of such public servants and would not hesitate to honor such individuals.

Thereafter, in a blaze of commendations, encomiums and eulogies, the chief executive officers of the government agencies took turns to narrate their working experiences with the Ministers.Emmanuel Jime said that, initially, he and his colleagues at the Shippers’Council were skeptical about the coming of Sambo as the Minister as they feared he may be biased in his dealings with the council, given his working background at NPA and NIWA, but he revealed that the reverse was the case as the Council benefitted more from the short stint of the former Minister.

“As a matter of fact, the Shippers’ Council benefitted more from the minister as he supported us and gave us listening ears”

Jime attributed the resuscitation of the jinxed Cargo Tracking Note(CTN) to the commitment and doggedness of the Minister whom he said helped the Council to fight off the proverbial inter-agency rivalry that threatened to kill the project.

“For this, we confer on the minister the “Saurdana of Shippers’Council”  Jime said, a statement which drew friendly jabs and flaks from the Minister and Dr. Jamoh.

Both the NPA MD, NIMASA DG and NRC MD spoke in a similar appreciatory manner, each giving his personal and working relationship with Sambo whom they all chorused has listening ears and other attributes of a leader and father to whom they all had unhindered access.

“He takes me like his brother and advised me on a number of things. But when he is angry, you wouldn’t want to come across him.

“But his anger goes as quickly as it comes,” said Bello-Koko.

“Through his leadership, close supervision and guidance, NIMASA has been able to commission lots of projects which include our permanent zonal offices in Abuja, and Port Harcourt and yet-to-be commissioned Lokoja office” disclosed Jamoh.All the heads of the agencies were unanimous in their conviction that the leadership of Sambo inspired them to gain ascendency in their various areas of mandates.

“He inspired us to work harder and better”  the NRC MD disclosed.

Mrs. Uromta, the CRFFN acting Registrar said the two former ministers have inspiring personalities and admired them from a distance.But she lamented that at a time when she had the opportunity to get close to and interact with them at close quarters as the head of CRFFN, that was when their tenure expired.

She then wished, just like other heads of the agencies, that Sambo will stage a comeback to the industry as the Minister in the current dispensation.

All through this blaze of glory and honour, Sambo and Adegoroye, sat with glowing and animated faces, smiling as the torrent of encomiums and eulogies cascaded from the podium and submerged the entire guests who watched and listened with admiration as each of the agency heads tried to outdo one another in their attempt to paint the former ministers in glowing tributes.

After soaking in enough eulogies, Sambo mounted the podium and momentarily became speechless as he tried to find the right words to express his appreciation.

He said he was surprised at the amount of goodwill and quantum of eulogies he received from the appreciative industry stakeholders.

He particularly thanked the organisers of the event, the League of Maritime Editors for the honour.