The newly appointed Minister of Transportation, Engr. Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, formally resumed office on Wednesday, warning officials of the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT) that if they look for his trouble, he will give them tenfold.
Sambo was appointed Transportation Minister by President Muhammadu Buhari last Wednesday following a minor cabinet reshuffle.
“It is a pleasure to be here. I would like to say it is 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.
“I am back home for this reason. I also feel I am back because somebody whispered to me that the Permanent Secretary happened to have gone through the same secondary school I went through which is the Federal Government College Maiduguri,” Sambo said shortly after taking over the reins of office from the outgoing Minister of State, Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki.
Speaking further, he said, “I want to tell you that I am here only for a very short time. I don’t want to cause problem for anyone. I don’t want anybody also to cause problem 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. 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 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.”
Sambo said he will look for the low hanging fruits and ensure that “we put them on the table as quickly as possible”.
Earlier, while speaking, the outgoing Minister of State, Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, while handing over to Sambo, urged officials of the ministry to support the new minister in order to move the nation forward.
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