The newly appointed Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo has assumed office warning ministry staff to avoid being trouble makers because if they look for his trouble, he will give them tenfold.
Speaking during the handover ceremony by the former Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki on Wednesday in Abuja, Mr. Sambo said the ministry was home coming considering his past experiences and hopes to do his best with collaboration from members of staff at the ministry.
The new Minister of transportation, who resumed alongside the minister of State for Transportation, Mr. Ademola Adegoroye vowed to achieve the development agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari in the transportation sector of the country.
“It’s a pleasure to be here. I would like to say it’s a pleasure to be back home. I started my life in the maritime industry, NPA precisely in 1984 and I went through other sectors of the economy and ended up in the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
“I want to tell you that I am here only for a very short time. I don’t want to cause problems for anyone. I don’t want anybody to also cause problems for me. I will not look for your trouble but if you look for mine, I will give you tenfold. That is me but we can live together for 50 years without a quarrel if you know me. So, I am coming with an open mind” he told the management staff.
“So, I am coming with an open mind. There is nothing under the sun you won’t hear when you are moving to a place but the best thing is, let it enter through the right ear and go out through the left. Meet the people with an open mind and let God take control. This is the way I am coming into this house (ministry) and I want you to also embrace me and give me all the support and don’t let me wish that I had remained in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing even as a Minister of State but I am sure the permanent secretary will make sure that that does not happen.”
Speaking on the next level of work and action, he said “we will look for the low hanging fruits and make sure that we put them on the table as quickly as possible.”
Speaking earlier, the outgone minister of state, Transportation, Gbemi Saraki, who handed over the ministry to Sambo, urged the directors and staff of the ministry to work well with the new minister in order to move the nation forward.
She said, “The team you have here are exceptionally hardworking, very quick to learn and have been exceptionally focused in ensuring to serve and assist the ministers in any and every capacity.
“I am sure that they will continue to do that as you take over the reign of the ministry. The Ministry of transport is one of the focal points of Mr. President’s agenda, looking at the issue of infrastructure. I am sure and have no doubt in my mind that the good legacy that have been started in 2015 will continue.
“If there is any way I can be of assistance to both of you, you know where I am.”
