As Reps Reviews Funding Options and Strategies

The National Assembly, NASS, through the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, has made commitment to look into and address funding challenges affecting advancement of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN; pledging to support and ensure that the Academy makes greater progress in manpower training and development-underscoring its importance in the harnessing and optimization of  Nigeria’s Blue Economy potentials.

Hon. Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim who is the Committee Chairman,  represented by the Deputy Chairman, Hon. Uduak Alphonsus Odudoh,  made this disclosure during a recent oversight visit to MAN to ascertain progress made at the Academy and resolve issues and challenges in the Academy’s operations and services.

While expressing  satisfaction  with the  Academy’s management financial reports  and number of completed capital projects executed, the Committee members also commended the leadership of the institution for its financial discipline and the progress made within the short period of leadership.

According to Hon Odudoh, “We know that MAN’s subvention from the federal government is small. We know the role NIMASA is playing in the area of funding which is commendable but if there are delays in the release of  funds for the Academy, the school suffers, training and manpower programmes of the Academy could be impacted  and the training of manpower for our maritime industry and the  global seafaring labour market could be affected as well; these are some of the issues we are here to discuss and  address”

Hon. Odudoh noted that from his previous interactions with the acting Rector, the present leadership of NIMASA is genuinely committed to provide and support the Academy because of its crucial role in maritime development in Nigeria.

The  Acting Rector of MAN, Dr. Kevin Okonna, in the course of interaction with NASS members, thanked the Hon. Minister of Marine and Blue Economy,  Adegboyega Oyetola,  for ensuring that MAN’s statutory mandate of providing maritime training for seafarers and other specialized maritime, oil and gas personnel continues.

His words “I would like to add here that the national policy on marine and blue economy has the Maritime Academy of Nigeria as the frontline maritime training institution for human capacity building for the success of the marine and blue economy”

“I was a member of the technical committee that worked on that marine and blue economy policy and I know that Maritime Academy of Nigeria is captured in that policy as a major training arm of the ministry of marine and blue economy. I think with this, you can understand what we have to do”

“The ministry of marine and blue economy provides marine services, fisheries and aquaculture services  amongst several other and the Academy is well positioned to make its contributions to the development of the ministry”

“And we say kudos to the Honorable Minister, the pioneer minister of the ministry, for directing the process for the establishment of this policy, because if you want to operate any system, you first of all have to have policy and strategy.  I know that the Policy document has gone through all stakeholders in the formulation process and it is at the level of finalization”

“We congratulate the Honorable Minister for taking that step first. We are going to build the industry based on this policy which has been well articulated and the strategies that have been incorporated into it.  It is worth reiterating that the Academy is captured in that policy document as the training arm of ministry of the Marine and Blue Economy; that is how important the Academy is to the ministry and indeed the country” the acting Rector said.