In order to deliver on its mandate and provide services to its numerous clients who depend on the Academy for Trainings, the Registrar, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN Oron, Mr. Mkpandiok Ante Mkpandiok, has reiterated that MAN is at peace and doing well at in all spheres.

Sounding very lively and excited, the Registrar, who in the absence of a substantive Rector continues to fill the gap and manage the affairs of the Academy, told us via telephone that the Institution is on the path of growth and remains very focused on achieving its mandate in Nigeria’s maritime industry.

According to him, “We at MAN are one family. There has been speculations that the leadership of the Academy is fighting or not working together. This is not true, some mischief makers, for lack of any productive engagement just write from the rumour mill. I can tell you that nobody is fighting anybody over anything. We have our roles and duties spelt out for us. We follow government’s directives. Anyone writing from hearsay should look else where.

Asked where his optimism is coming from, Mr Mkpandiok explained “We have been through a lot in recent time. Pressure and emotions affect people in different ways. It’s painful to lose a colleague of many years but to lose two in a row is a devastation that has shaken the Academy. As management, we have decided to get over the grief and pains, join hands, work together and move the Academy forward. It is a resolution to which all of us at MAN Oron have committed to comply with”.

Other staffs of the Academy we spoke with exuded the same high spirits and excitement emanating from the Registrar. They stated that there is a new dawn at MAN that has enveloped the Academy which has ushered in freshness, tranquility and unprecedented harmony amongst management and staff.

A staff of the Academy who does not want to named stated “We are rejoicing, the Registrar, the Bursar and other management staff have closed ranks in order move the Academy forward, it’s a new dawn for the Academy, all of us are happy, shame to rumour mongers, we don’t have problems at MAN Oron…”

Chief Akpan Ufot is an indigene of Oron town, contacted on the development he said “The Academy is the only federal institution within the Oron community, what affects the Academy affects everybody. This is why a lot of Oron people have emotional attachments to the Academy which they try to express in different ways. We have been saddened by some unfortunate developments at the school but we are glad that things are changing for good. It is a welcome development,” he said

When told of the development Barrister Chucks Imoka, a maritime lawyer, very conversant with developments in the maritime industry exclaimed “This is what we have been talking about and waiting for. Without peace there can be no progress, others should take a cue from the management of MAN Oron, all of us must unite and confront our challenges. It is the only way to succeed”.

Other Maritime stakeholders express joy at this development even as they urge the management team to stay united and avoid distractions by their detractors.