BY Godfrey Bivbere
There was tension, Thursday, at the headquarters of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, and the maritime industry as news filtered out that the recently appointed Director-General of the agency, Mr. Ziakede Akpobolokemi, has resigned.

Though the Public Relations Officer of the agency, Gbenga Ogunsakin, was quick to deny the rumour, an impeccable source at the Ministry of Transport, who would want to be quoted, said there was an element of truth in the rumour but that the Ministry will come out with the true position of things in due cause.

Another souce told Vanguard that the DG had written a 10-page letter of resignation to the Minister, part of which stated that he was not comfortable working with some very top management staff of the agency.

The source said that he would only stay if the management staff mentioned was removed.

Since the new DG came to the agency, he has been facing stiff resistance from key stakeholders who based their opposition on the premiss that the new DG does not poses the requisite credentials and experience for the job.

Vanguard leant that the DG and some members of the board have been summoned to Abuja in the last three days for undisclosed reasons.

An unconfirmed source at the Presidency told our correspondent that the Presidency had been embarrassed by the outcry of the stakeholders who insist that the Nigerian Maritime industry has gone beyond the level of bringing a school teacher to come and learn on the job as the head of the nation’s apex maritime regulation agency.