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“Where is Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola?”

-maritime industry on auto-pilot as Minister’s whereabouts unknown

 –maritime stakeholders express concerns over continued absence of minister at major public events 
FUNSO OLOJO 
Maritime stakeholders in the industry have expressed concerns and worries over the continued absence of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Isiaka Oyetola, at major high-stakes functions in the sector.
The concerned industry operators, who seemed to be expressing genuine agitation over the whereabouts of the minister, observed that Oyetola has consistently absented himself in the last few weeks from some critical government and corporate functions that signpost the core functions of his ministry.
According to them, such events were attended by the representatives of the Minister.
They make copious references to the international workshop on Deep Seabed activities held on Wednesday, 18th- Thursday 19th, 2024 in Abuja where the minister, due to the importance of the meeting, was supposed to welcome participants but was represented by Oloruntola Olufemi, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Similarly, the stakeholders pointed to the two-day 4th Annual Symposium and workshop organized by the African Marine Environment Sustainability Initiative (AFMESI) held in Lagos on September 24th- 25th, 2024 where he was also represented.
More poignant among the events in which the inexplicable absence of the minister raised the adrenaline of the stakeholders was the ongoing 79th United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) 2024 at New York, United States of America.
The concerned stakeholders expressed alarm over his absence at the global event where they believed he should have used the platform to sell the programmes of the ministry to the global world.
According to them, that was one absence too many.
Similarly, the World Maritime Day held in Lagos on Thursday, September, 26th, 2024 which the Minister was supposed to have declared open, was done on his behalf by Mr Olufemi, the Permanent Secretary.
” We would have understood the absence of the Minister at the World Maritime Day if he had attended the UNGA 2024″ an agitated stakeholder observed.
” Even if he had attended the global event in New York, he would still have had time to fly back to attend the World Maritime Day where he was supposed to address the participants who are the key industry stakeholders on the achievements of his ministry, his policy thrust and projection.
“After all, I learned that NIMASA DG who addressed the Atlantic Cooperation submit which the Minister should have ordinarily addressed if he had gone, had time to fly back to attend the World Maritime Day” an obviously unhappy stakeholder interjected.
Checks by our reporter revealed that the Minister had busy schedules during the weeks in  July and August 2024  when he was actively involved in maritime activities to the delight of stakeholders.
However, the observant stakeholders claimed that they started to notice the gradual withdrawal of the minister from public functions at the beginning of September 2024 till the end of the month when his representatives held forth for him at all events.
“From the beginning of September up till the moment am talking with you, we haven’t seen the minister at the crucial public functions which raise our concerns” another industry operator volunteered.
A perusal of the minister’s X official page and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, which normally give detailed coverage of his official activities, showed that the minister’s last public outing was on August 27th, 2024, when he attended the 2024 International Business Conference and Expo organized by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
On August 24th, Oyetola attended the signing of the Agreement on Minimum Conditions of Service for Labour in Nigeria’s Shipping industry.
On July 13th, the minister attended Chief Olusegun Osoba’s 85th birthday and book launch.
On July 11th, he was at his Alma Mater, the University of Lagos, as the Keynote speaker during the institution’s Employment Clinic Education to Empowerment Transition Programme (EETP) career event tagged ” Blue Career Insights”
The Minister was also at the 17th Seminar for Judges organized by the Nigerian Shippers’Council on July 9th-July 11th, 2024 in Abuja.
On July 4th, Oyetola personally commissioned NPA’s High Tech Marine Crafts in Lagos.
On July 3rd, he hosted the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Pieter Leenknegt, in his Office in Abuja.
The minister’s above itinerary clearly showed that he was a busy man who was always engaged in industry activities.
It was against the background of this realization that there are now heightened concerns about his less public appearance in recent times.
More worrisome, according to the concerned stakeholders, was the absence of the minister at the 79th edition of UNGA in New York.
He was at the 2023 edition of the global conference where he accompanied President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He also addressed the 2023 Atlantic Cooperation submit chaired by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
His engagement with Dr Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank and Governor Rahman of Kwara state was generously captured on his X page.
As was the usual practice of the minister, his attendance at the 78th UNGA in 2023 was flamboyant and captured on his official X page, including the official X page of the ministry.
Even, his  Special Assistant on Media, Ismail Omipidan, made a public spectacle of the minister’s departure to 2023 UNGA on his Facebook account page with copious pictures.
The absence of such a flamboyant display of the activities at the 79th UNGA in New York on the Minister’s  X page raises the suspicion of discerning stakeholders that the minister did not attend the all-important 2024 UNGA which heightens their anxiety over the whereabout of the the former Osun state governor.
The suspicion and anxiety of industry operators were hinged on the fact that it was the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime and Administration Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dayo Mobereola, who addressed the 2024 Atlantic Cooperation submit held on the sideline of the 79th UNGA.
The same summit which was addressed by Oyetola last year.
The Atlantic Cooperation submit, a ministerial gathering, was curiously addressed by Mobereola, the head of an agency under the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
“If he(Oyetola)  was there, Mobereola wouldn’t have been the one to address that important submit” an operator said.
Also, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed through a memo signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF) that a lean size of Nigeria’s delegation should go to 2024 UNGA to reflect the mood of the nation.
As a result, government officials whose office have direct relevance to the topics of the global event were only allowed to go.
Consequently, the advance party who welcomed Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Federal government Head of Nigeria’s delegation to the global event, was on hand to receive the Vice president when his presidential plane touched down at John F Kennedy International Airport on Sunday, September 22nd, 2024.
The advance party included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar who coordinated the visit, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, Director General of the National International Technology Development Agency(NITDA) , Kashifu Inuwa as well as Nigerian Diplomats and UN officials.
Observers claimed that Oyetola should have been among the delegates due to the Atlantic Cooperation submit which he expected to participate which is relevant to the global event that could have warranted his attendance according to the Presidential order.
The attendance of Dr Tijani, the  Minister of Communication and Inuwa, DG, NITDA was hinged on their participation in the SDG Media Zone meeting convened by the UN Department of Global Communications held on the sideline of the global conference.
The same criterion qualifies Oyetola to attend the conference because of the Atlantic Cooperation submit which he was supposed to have addressed.
However, stakeholders said they were worried that the minister was missing at such a critical global event.
However, Mohammed Tahir Zakari, the Assistant Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, acknowledged the absence of the minister at recent industry events, including the 79th edition of UNGA.
“Indeed it is true the minister has not been seen at public events in recent times but I am not in a position to tell you where he is.
” All I know is that the minister is hale and hearty. He is ok” the ministry’s official spokesman said.
But in another breath, Zakari claimed that Oyetola was on official assignment outside the country, but not at UNGA.
” He is on an official assignment outside the country. That is all that I can say.
”Anywhere the minister is, he is on official assignment” Zakari claimed.
When he was asked why the minister was not at UNGA and if his purported official assignment outside the country was more important than the global event in New York, Zakari retorted in a menacing voice ”My friend, I cannot answer all these questions you are asking me.
” I am not in a position to tell you more than what I have told you. “
He however acknowledged that the minister had been having quality representations at the public events he was supposed to attend which he believed was normal.
He however expressed gratitude to the stakeholders for their concerns over the whereabouts of the minister.
Beyond the levity the official spokesman of the ministry took the unknown whereabouts of the minister, some angry stakeholders said they are looking forward to the impending cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu which will see non-performing ministers lose their job.
” Oyetola has not provided the expected quality leadership in the maritime industry since he assumed office a year ago.
” Can you imagine a minister who is supposed to provide quality leadership and direction to his field lieutenants now on AWOL and remains incommunicado, leaving the industry on autopilot.
”He also refused to avail us of his performance as a minister when he clocked one year in office in August”, the agitated industry operator said.
” If the assessment by the  Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination and head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit,  Hadiza Bala Usman, on whose recommendations the cabinet reshuffle will be based, is anything to go by, Ministers like Oyetola should be among the causalities” another angry stakeholder blurted out his frustration at what he described as uninspiring leadership of Oyetola in the last one year in office.
It could be recalled that the presidency has confirmed the resolve of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reshuffle his 47-member cabinet soonest.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who made the planned cabinet known, the exercise would be evidence-based.

Besides, the presidency stated that Tinubu would be aided in his decision by public opinion that has been empirically extracted.

Onanuga, who was in the company of Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, O’tega Ogra, said there was no timeline as to when Tinubu would reshuffle his cabinet which was inaugurated in August 2023.

He disclosed that the president had indicated his plan to reshuffle his cabinet, but said he could not be categorical about when he will do it.

“I don’t have any timeline. The president has expressed his desire to reshuffle his cabinet and he will do it. I don’t know whether he’s going to do it before October 1st, but he will surely do it. So that’s what I will say. He has not given us any timeline he’ll do it, but he will do it. He has expressed his plan he wants to do it.”
Shedding more light on the planned cabinet shake-up, Ogra explained that the President would be guided by an empirical process, making reference to the performance indicator, which is being coordinated by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination and head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit,  Hadiza Bala Usman.

 

All the pictures are from the Minister’s attendance of 2023 UNGA

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Analyses

The invisible toll gates:Why National Single Window is Nigeria’s ultimate economic battleground

Monday Discourse with  Ibrahim Nasiru
Walk into any market in Nigeria today, from the commercial hubs of Lagos to the roadside stalls in Yola, and ask why a bag of rice or an imported spare part costs three times what it did last year.
The typical public commentator will blame global inflation, floating currencies, or macro-economic shocks.
But those who understand logistics know the real truth lies buried under layers of paper, manual stamps, and artificial delays at our seaports.
Nigeria’s international trade is suffocating not from a lack of deep water, but from a deliberate design of convenience.
The recent operational rollout of the National Single Window (NSW) has triggered behind-the-scenes panic among Port cartels, and for good reason.
For decades, keeping our clearing processes fragmented, manual, and dependent on desk-to-desk human interaction was the perfect business model for syndicates.
When cargo dwell times drag on for 21 days, those delays are money in the pockets of the gatekeepers and a death sentence for local businesses.
Let us look at the raw field realities. The push by the Nigeria Customs Service to aggressively crash clearance times down to global 48-hour standards is meeting fierce internal resistance.
Why? Because a unified digital ecosystem means you cannot easily manipulate documentation, hide illicit cargo, or demand “mobilization fees” before signing off a container.
The outcry and protests from certain freight-forwarding syndicates aren’t about technical glitches; they are about the sudden closure of invisible toll gates.
This is exactly why governance at our national gateways can no longer be left to the mercy of transactional bureaucratic habits.
Building deep-sea infrastructure like Lekki Port is a massive physical achievement, but concrete and cranes are useless if the administrative processes at the gate remain backward.
 Real structural reform requires turning our Ports into automated, friction-free pipelines that prioritize production over rent-seeking.
If Nigeria wants to survive this fiscal squeeze, the National Single Window cannot just be treated as another glossy IT project launched in Abuja.
 It requires unyielding administrative enforcement to completely dismantle the corrupt cartels managing the manual desk chains.
The invisible toll gates at our Ports must be completely demolished, and that exact same structural discipline must be scaled across our border stations and trade corridors.
The era of managing international trade with 20th-century paper trails is dying. The future belongs to the builders of automated, transparent systems.
Chief Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst,  writes from Abuja 
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Headlines

NANTA Exco embarks on seven-day Ghana retreat, fam trip to deepen regional tourism partnership

Gloria Odion, Reporter

The National Executive Council (NEC) of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has commenced a seven-day executive retreat and familiarisation (fam) trip to Ghana, hosted by Safari World, as part of efforts to strengthen regional tourism partnerships and expand cross-border travel opportunities.

The NANTA delegation was received at Safari World Homes in Accra by the Chairman of the Safari World Group, Mr. Ernest Gyekye, who expressed delight at hosting the Nigerian travel trade leaders.

He assured the delegation of a memorable experience throughout their week-long stay.

Speaking on the significance of the visit, NANTA President, Mr. Yinka Folami, described the retreat and familiarisation tour as a strategic initiative aimed at fostering stronger business relationships and promoting collaborative tourism development across Africa.

“This mission is not a leisure trip,” Folami said. “It is a deliberate step to implement and expand our association’s marketing advocacy for Nigerian brands across borders.”

He noted that Nigeria and Ghana share deep historical, cultural and commercial ties that should be leveraged to drive tourism growth on the continent.

“Nigeria and Ghana share history, culture, trade and people. The future of our tourism cannot be built in silos,” he said.

“This retreat is about moving from policy to practice—creating real products, real partnerships and real movement of travellers between Accra and Lagos.”

As part of the programme, the NANTA executives will engage in strategic business-to-business (B2B) meetings with their Ghanaian counterparts, tour key tourism destinations under the Safari World brand, and participate in cultural exchange activities designed to promote stronger bilateral tourism cooperation.

The itinerary spans Safari World’s three flagship destinations, including Safari Homes in Accra, the Aqua Safari riverfront experience, Safari Island Cruise, Safari Nautica, and Safari Recreation and Sports facilities in Ada, as well as the Safari Valley Eco Resort and Safari Eco Park in Dawu.

Operating under the brand promise, “One World, Three Destinations, Over 20 Unique Experiences,” Safari World is leveraging the visit to strengthen its footprint in the Nigerian travel market while positioning Ghana as a premier destination for leisure tourism, conferences, group travel, family holidays and premium tourism experiences.

A major highlight of the visit will be the Executive Dinner scheduled for July 21 at the Safari Valley Eco Resort, where key stakeholders from Nigeria and Ghana’s tourism industries will deliberate on strategies for deepening travel trade and advancing regional tourism development.

The familiarisation tour is expected to provide NANTA’s leadership with first-hand knowledge of Safari World’s tourism offerings, paving the way for the development of attractive travel packages and stronger business partnerships that will benefit Nigerian travellers and the wider West African tourism industry.

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Customs

Ogun Customs spurns claims of Smugglers’ takeover of Idiroko–Sango Ota trading Route

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The Ogun I Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has dismissed as false reports alleging that smugglers had taken over the Idiroko–Sango Ota trading route in Ogun State, describing the claims as a deliberate misrepresentation of a traffic incident.
In a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Customs (SC) Chado, the Command clarified that the traffic gridlock on the route resulted from the breakdown of an articulated commercial trailer after it fell into a badly deteriorated section of Atan Road, temporarily obstructing the free flow of traffic.
According to the Command, the vehicles caught in the ensuing congestion were legitimate commercial trucks transporting red palm oil to various local markets and had no connection whatsoever with smuggling activities.
It explained that the large number of heavy-duty trucks trapped in the gridlock may have led some members of the public to wrongly conclude that smugglers had taken over the road.
“The reports that smugglers blocked the road are inaccurate. The disruption resulted from a road accident and poor road conditions. The vehicles involved were lawful commercial vehicles transporting red palm oil for legitimate trade,” Chado stated.
The Command urged journalists, social media users and the general public to verify information before disseminating reports capable of creating unnecessary panic or undermining public confidence in security agencies.
Observers within the border trade sector noted that the allegation does not reflect the prevailing security situation within the Ogun I Area Command, where anti-smuggling operations have been intensified under the leadership of the Acting Customs Area Controller, Comptroller O.O. Afeni.
Since assuming office, Comptroller Afeni has strengthened intelligence-driven surveillance, enhanced collaboration with other security agencies and host communities, and sustained pressure on economic saboteurs operating along the Ogun border corridors.
These measures, according to stakeholders, have resulted in significant seizures of prohibited goods and reinforced the Command’s resolve to safeguard Nigeria’s economy and territorial integrity.
Maritime and border trade stakeholders also cautioned against the spread of unverified information capable of undermining the efforts of security personnel or creating a false impression of lawlessness in border communities.
They stressed that while combating smuggling remains an ongoing responsibility, responsible and accurate reporting is equally critical to ensuring that operational achievements are not overshadowed by misinformation.
The Ogun I Area Command reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining its anti-smuggling campaign while facilitating legitimate cross-border trade in line with the statutory mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service.

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