President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, nephew of former President Shehu Shagari, as the new Chairman of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
The decision marks another major shift in the administration’s ongoing rearrangement of top federal positions.
The announcement places a familiar political figure at the helm of the nation’s inland waterways system.
Shagari, a former Minister of Water Resources and one-time Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, steps into a role that will demand both administrative strength and technical understanding.
The government expects his experience to help reposition NIWA for better transport operations and improved waterway management across the country.
His appointment comes with another major change.
Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar, who previously held the NIWA top job, has been moved to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), where he will now serve as Executive Secretary.
The transition reflects a deliberate swap of responsibilities within two key agencies.
However, the Presidency described the move as part of a targeted effort to strengthen public institutions.
The reshuffle aims to “inject fresh leadership” and place experienced hands in agencies that play important roles in infrastructure development and transparency in the extractive sector.
Shagari is expected to hit the ground running once the full transition process begins.
While the government has not released the detailed timeline, officials say the new leadership is expected to align with ongoing reforms across strategic sectors of the economy.
