By Michael Jegede
Tiv professionals resident in Lagos, recently, organized a reception in honour of Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime, on his appointment as the Executive Secretary/CEO of Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, by President Muhamadu Buhari.
The occasion held in Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, was graced by eminent personalities, including the Minister of Transportation and former governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, erstwhile Deputy Governor of Benue State, Chief Steven Lawani, former Attorney General of Benue State, Barr. Joe Abaagu, immediate past MD of Nigeria Gas Aggregation Company, Chief Engr Morgan Okwoche, former lawmakers from Benue State, heads of agencies under the Transportation Ministry, stakeholders in the shipping and maritime industry and a host of other dignitaries.
Jime, a top member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, used the event to lament the poor leadership in Benue State that has denied his people the basic infrastructure that the government at the state level should provide for them.
The Shippers Council boss attributed the leadership failure in Benue for the past 40 years to the recruitment process, where the right people are not given the chance to lead the state. He therefore stressed the need for all hands to be on deck to bring forth credible leadership that will turn around the fortunes of Benue State and impact positively on the lives of the people.
Jime declared that “the time has come for the people to decide as a united front to rescue Benue from the bad leadership back home. Recruitment processes have been left in the hands of selfish elites, who really do not mean well for the state.
“We all have a role to play in ensuring that the correct kind of leadership is enthroned back home in Benue. Believe me sincerely, there is nothing impossible for us to do if we decide as a united front to impact on what is happening back home.
“I just hope I have made some remarks that would give us food for thought. My job here is to instigate the thought process that will ensure and enable the emergence of a quality leadership that Benue State is in dire need of. Except for the four-year period of the first civilian governor of Benue State, I am not too sure that we have had any leadership to be proud of.
“For 40 years after the first civilian governor, we are still going back, referring to the past achievements the former governor made. This is a big challenge that has been thrown at us. We cannot keep talking about 40 years of achievement from the past. Time has come for us to put hands together to construct how leadership is decided back home.
“We all have a responsibility to ensure that the leadership in Benue State is a credible leadership.”
Jime urged his Benue brothers and sisters to work hard to earn the trust of the Buhari administration, while thanking the President for the appointment.
He added that “the time has come for the Tiv nation to show unity as a people. So, I offer myself to work with the leaders so as to ensure that from today going forward, the Tiv nation in Lagos will become a one single united family.”
He also expressed gratitude to the Transportation Minister for his show of love and support to Benue State over the years and reaffirmed his determination to perform as the CEO of NSC.
Also speaking at the gathering, the Minister of Transportation, Amaechi, described Jime as a gentleman to the core.
According to Amaechi, “Initially, we at the ministry and the Nigeria Shippers Council were apprehensive with the appointment of Jime, because we have never worked with a politician as the executive secretary.
“But we only assumed that he is a gentleman and a week into his assumption (of office), we found out that he is as gentle as the former executive secretary of the council.”
The Minister guaranteed the staff of NSC and stakeholders in the shipping business of Jime’s competence and ability to transform the sector.
Other speakers at the reception likewise eulogized Jime, describing him as a naturally calm and humble fellow with great leadership traits. They regretted that Benue people missed a governor they never had in Jime, who, in their conviction, would have taken the state out of the doldrums and freed it from the shackles of underdevelopment, if he had been given the opportunity when he stood as APC’s candidate in the 2019 governorship election.
Jime’s classmate in higher institution and former Attorney-General o Benue State, Barrister Abaagu, said that there was no doubt that the NSC helmsman is a tested and trusted leader with the capacity to deliver.
Abaagu thanked PMB for appointing Jime twice in his administration to head two separate agencies at different times, noting that it is a rare privilege that should not be taken for granted. He also appreciated Amaechi for recommending their illustrious son for the Shippers Council’s top job.
Buhari had in June, via a press release signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, announced the approval of the appointment of Jime as the ES/CEO of NSC, after the expiration of the second term of Mr. Hassan Bello, the immediate past occupant of the seat.
Many individuals and groups had hailed Jime’s appointment, seeing it as a welcome development. It is widely believed that the lawyer-turned politician will bring his wealth of experience to bear in the new assignment, having carved a niche for himself in all the public offices he has held in the past.
He was once the Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority, NEPZA, from where he resigned to contest for governor in the last general election. He was a two-term member of the Green Chamber of the National Assembly representing Makurdi/Guma federal constituency in Benue State, between 2007 and 2015, and Speaker of the State House of Assembly from 1992 to 1993.
Senator Abatemi-Usman, a member of APC’s high-profile contact/strategy committee, who was present at the event, described the appointment was well-deserved.
According to him, Jime has what it takes to pilot the affairs of the Council to an enviable height, given his experience and pedigree.
Abatemi-Usman described the NSC boss as a consummate administrator and astute politician with outstanding records of achievements from the previous positions he has occupied within the legislative and executive arms of government. He said Jime will justify the confidence reposed in him by the President and Amaechi, the supervising Minister of the agency.
•Jegede, a media professional, writes from Abuja.
