
The All Progressive Congress, APC, candidate in the last governorship election in Rivers State, Dakuku Peterside, has been appointed the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, by the federal government.
The announcement came on Thursday via a statement signed by Yetunde Sonaike, the Public Relations Director of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Abuja.
The statement said the Director General is to start work with immediate effect.
Peterside, the Amaopusenibo of Opobo kingdom, was a member of the House of Representatives (2011-2015) before contesting for the governorship seat in Rivers State last year.
While in the House, he was chairman of the committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) and served in other key committees such as Anti-corruption, National Ethics and Values; Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes; Co-operation and Integration in Africa, Electoral matters; Industry; Communications and Works.
Before then, Peterside had served twice as Rivers State Commissioner for works while Rotimi Amaechi, the current Minister of Transport, was governor. Interestingly, with his appointment, he would be reporting to the man believed to be his political godfather.
The new NIMASA DG attended Okrika Grammer School, University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, University of Port Harcourt and the Georgia State University, Atlanta and has degrees in Medical Laboratory Sciences (Haematology) and Business Administration.
NIMASA is a strategic agency in the maritime and transportation sector but is believed to have been largely mismanaged in the past.
The last DG of the agency, Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi, was sacked in July last year and is now being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC along with former Executive Director, Eziekiel Agaba, and six other staff of the agency.