By Godwin Oritse

FORMER Transport Minister Chief Ojo Maduekwe has given the port reform of the Federal Government a pass mark saying “that a lot of progress has been made”.

Maduekwe who spoke to Vanguard at the dedication service of the Chapel of  Christ Church at the Olusegun Obasanjo Library project in Abeokuta Ogun State said “if I compare my period as Minister of Transport in 2003 to this present time I would say that a lot of progress has been made”stating that there are still opportunities to make the ports better than they are at present.

He admitted that his knowledge of the port industry is very limited hence he could not comment on most of the issues  raised with him.
He explained that in the last eleven years he had moved from one ministry to another adding that he is just beginning to catch up with happenings in other areas of the economy.

His words : “There is always a gap between promise and performance and as you attain what you thought was the frontier, new frontiers are opened up and when I look at the situation on ground  a lot of progress has been made, if I compare my period as Minister of Transport in 2003 to now a lot of progress has been made.

“We live in an imperfect world which means that the opportunities for perfecting whatever we are doing always exist
“Well I thank you for the honour of asking me such profound questions however as a matter of principle I try to comment only on what I am very current with.

“From the time I left as Minister of Transport I did not even one month break to reflect on these things and then follow them up because I moved up from there to be Presidential Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo on legal and constitutional matters. I was still on that job when I was made the National Secretary of the ruling party, from here I was made Foreign Minister in the Government of Late Presidential Umoru Yar Adua.

“Continually for Eleven years I have been involved in one role or the other, from March when the Cabinet was dissolved, is one time out of 11 years I have had to now feel myself back with what has been happening in other areas outside  particular responsibilities I have been having.

“I must confess that I have been very busy with other assignments after my tenure as Transport Minister. I have not followed up on these details to able to give a very meaningful answer but I know that a lot of work has been done by my successors and they have continued to excel, we can only wish them well”

It will be recalled that Maduekwe was the Minister who succeeded in breaking the strong hold of the  Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) had on the Nigerian maritme industry.