Few days after arguing that he was in support of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has paid unscheduled visit to the site.
Kachikwu visited the site Thursday after a meeting with the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa and his deputy, Kingsley Otuaro.
Sources said that the Minister paid a visit to the University site on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The idea of the visit, according to a source, was to have on the ground assessment of the project so far.
Our source said that the Minister may be seeking a Bill before the National Assembly empowering his Ministry to convert the University as Nigerian National Petroleum Academy.
The Bill is expected to come as an executive Bill from the President to the National Assembly.
During the visit, the Minister was also said to have inspected Chief Government Ekpemupolo’s house in Gbaramatu which had earlier been vandalized by security operatives.
Kachikwu and the Transportation Minister, Mr Rotimi Amaechi had disagreed on the proposed maritime University Okerenkoko in Delta State.
Amaechi who attended a town hall meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state had defended the decision of President Muhammadu Buihari to scrap the project.
He criticized the amount spent in acquiring the land, saying the sum of N13bn was on the high side for the land alone, arguing that the amount was enough to carry out the entire project.
He said that the present administration does not have enough fund for the project, and said that if the people want the project to go on, concerted efforts must be made to return the N13bn paid on land.
Amaechi added, “What to do: let EFCC retrieve the money and release the money and we build the university. If they bring the N13billion, I will build the university for them. That’s for land alone. I believe the Federal Government does not have money. When we have money, we can continue. The minister of petroleum has said he would look for the money. Minister, give me the money and we continue.”
However, in his speech, Kachikwu supported the project, a statement that drew a loud ovation from the people.
“First, let me say on Okerenkoko University, I disagree with the Minister of Transport” .
“Any facility that is located in the South-South we should work close to developing it. I don’t care the circumstances under which you are placed.
“It’s not in my position to determine whether land was valued at three billion or ten billion. The appropriate institution which is at the cost system will determine that. That has nothing to do with development of infrastructure. And as far as I know, so much has already gone into the university.
“So much physical assets are being developed. We are not going to throw away the baby with bath water. We deal with the issues but the university will be developed. If he (Amaechi) does not want it in maritime, I will take it in petroleum”.
Capacity Building: MWUN Trains 400 Dockworkers In Dubai
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) said it has trained over four hundred of its members internationally and locally on acceptable international best practices.
Disclosing this to Shipping Position Daily, President of the Dockworkers Branch of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju said that the figure was for 2016 alone, and that the training was conducted in far-away Dubai in the United Arab Emirate.
He said that the maritime union of today is well positioned and equipped in terms of capacity building and that this is evident in the relative peace that is enjoyed at the port during the tenure of the present executives of the MWUN.
Comrade Adeyanju who spoke with our correspondent last week pointed out that, but for the re-orientation and training that has been given to dockworkers, the recent invasion of MWUN Secretariat by some hoodlums would have degenerated into a full crisis situation.
He assured that before the end of his tenure next year, the union would train more dockworkers and embark on more transformation programmes.
"We have trained 400 dockworkers internationally and nationally and we would continue to organise more training for them, we are not going to rest on it"
"If not because of the training, what you are seeing today would have generated more crises, but the dockworkers of today are enlightened, the era of thurgery, causing mayhem and creating fracas at the port is no longer there"
"This year alone, we have done one training in Dubai and before we round up by next year we are still going to send more dockworkers for training both local and international" he said
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