The Association of former Councilors of Oro Nation (AFECO) in Akwa Ibom State has condemned past administrators of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron for failing to raise the institute’s standard and turn it into a world class and highly reckoned specialised school.
The AFECO urged President Muhammadu Buhari to give priority attention to the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron, which it claimed has been under funded in addition to the failure of not being accorded the status befitting a special institution.
The Association of former Councilors of Oro Nation (AFECO) in Akwa Ibom State has condemned past administrators of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron for failing to raise the institute’s standard and turn it into a world class and highly reckoned specialised school.
The AFECO urged President Muhammadu Buhari to give priority attention to the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron, which it claimed has been under funded in addition to the failure of not being accorded the status befitting a special institution.
This is even as the group commended President for reappointing Joshua Okpo, Rector of MAN for a second term of four years in office, noting that reappointment has shown that the new government is indeed ready to fix the nation
“Mr. President’s decision to reappoint Ambassador Okpo has further enriched our belief and confidence in him, that his quest to fix Nigeria and ensure that critical development assets like MAN is given the necessary political drive to be in the global map as an important player.”
President of the AFECO, Hon. Okon Edet Iyohokwa said this while speaking with the media recently
He said since the presidential election in April where all Nigerians irrespective of tribe and religion voted overwhelmingly for President Muhammadu Buhari, all reservations have disappeared.
AFECO boss lamented that successive administrations in the past have failed to pay adequate attention to the development of the academy, thereby precluding it from delivering a one shop stop world class training programme, which the group claimed has negated the primary purpose for establishing the institution.
However it added that the situation made the institute to lag behind in regional, continental and global ranking, reckoning and influence.
The group said much has been done under the rector in the last four years, adding that "Following its recent facility tour of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron, which it said it undertook to ascertain the level of its development in the past four years under the watch of the Ambassador Okpo,"
The group said much is still left to be done in taking the academy to its rightful place in terms of its national objective, even as it lauded Okpo for his bold developmental projects and purposeful leadership.
The group said it believes in the integrity and capacity of President Buhari to overhaul the system and lead Nigeria to attain the political, cultural, social, economic and diplomatic comparative advantages that accrue to it in the global space, if the academy is put to its full potentials.
"Now that we have him as president, we are reminded of his antecedents to making Nigeria work."
" The world believes in him and his capacity to make the correct change. We also believe that President Buhari will succeed in areas of diplomatic concerns such as re-building cultural and social re-orientation and taking it higher in a more responsible manner, and deepening our economic and political growth."
“We believe that the coming of President Buhari at this auspicious time will impact on the eventual journey of MAN into its rightful place, having suffered much undue political setback since inception. "
"We are particularly pleased that the president deemed it proper to re-appoint Ambassador Okpo for a second term, and we are assured that the nation would be better for it."
" We believe that President Buhari through Ambassador Okpo will provide the needed impetus to drive the complete repositioning of the academy towards its transition to a degree awarding institution, for global acceptance.”
“As former Oron councilors, we have for a very long time been concerned about the fate of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria. As a special institution like the School of Aviation Zaria, Petroleum Training Institute Warri, Nigeria Defence Academy Kaduna to name just a few, we had hoped for a realistic provision of adequate maritime training for the production of the needed maritime manpower."
“Top in our worry is the realization that MAN Oron is just beginning the process of affiliation and partnership with global maritime regulatory bodies such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and World Maritime University (WMU), and there are other relevant bodies beside these two.
"We feel sad that with over thirty years historical sanction, MAN Oron lacks the academic and technical base to qualify cadets based on the Manila Convention, and our cadets are compelled to pursue their course completion programme in other maritime academies, in the world”
“We do not only find this unacceptable, for us, it is scandalous and seemed to be the height of executive inaction, and or, executive negligence. Knowing the track record of President Muhammadu Buhari, we feel assured that his administration will provide the turning point for the academy.",he added.
" We also feel assured that with Ambassador Okpo, Mr. President will not have problems not only in getting his mandate and turn around commitments properly executed, but also timely and expeditiously. "
"As concerned stakeholders, we desire that MAN Oron must take its pride of place as an important component of our economy, and the time is now.
“Unfortunately, in the past twenty years, we have watched helplessly as the most basic training facilities and assets were not provided."
" It is clear that training under this reality in the past has been adhoc in nature and incomplete. "
"Funding for the academy is inadequate and we are also concerned about part of the academy’s funding arrangements derived from a statutory 5percent of the net earnings of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), which are released to the academy at piece meal and at the whims and caprices of the leadership of NIMASA.”
The group listed perceived under development of the academy to include non listing of the academy by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), World Maritime University and other relevant international maritime authorities, thereby reducing its global status in both the international labour market and participation in relevant global protocols and conventions.
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