By Cliffsimeon Akalonu
The Anambra State Government has congratulated Chudi Offodile on his appointment as an Executive Director of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Offodile was on Wednesday announced the new NIMASA Executive Director in charge of Finance following the reorganisation of the agency’s top management.
In a statement in Awka today signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C. Don Adinuba, the state government said that “Offodile is eminently deserving of the appointment. He is, in fact, worth everything in gold”.
Offodile, a lawyer, political analyst and author, represented the Awka Federal Constituency in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2005 and was simultaneously chairman of the Sub Committee on Gas and Chairman of the Special Committee on Joint Venture Oil Operations, later heading the Committee on Public Petitions.
“Though he left the legislature 15 years ago”, the statement said, “his colleagues and officials of the National Assembly speak nostalgically about him on account of the brilliance, commitment and vibrancy he displayed.
“Having discharged his duties with aplomb, he set a standard by which a lot of his colleagues are still judged in matters of transparency, probity and commitment to the common good as well as legislative delivery”.
According to Adinuba, Offodile was one of the first major investors in the state following the restoration of democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999 “and encouraged many people from Anambra State to follow his bold example of think home.
“His impressive record made Governor Willie Obiano appoint him last December a member of the Anambra State Vision 2070 Committee, a group drawing up a strategic plan to make the state attain the status of a fully developed entity in the next 50 years. The committee is headed by former Central Bank governor Chukwuma Soludo, a distinguished Economics professor.
The statement also noted that Governor Obiano has expressed “the gratitude of the people and government of Anambra State for the appointment.
“Offodile’s appointment into the leadership of NIMASA, a key parastatal, is obviously in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise during the 2019 electioneering campaign to appoint persons from Anambra State and the Southeast geopolitical zone into strategic positions.
“We still expect more key appointments because all the people the president has appointed from our state and the Southeast geopolitical zone always display outstanding competence, integrity and loyalty”.
