Even as uncertainties surround last week’s expedition to Delta state by the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)to ‘take delivery’ of the hectares of land for the second maritime academy, there are strong indications that the move have again, pitched the director general of the agency, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi against the ministry of transport.
The NIMASA had last Thursday led its top management team to Delta state to receive title deeds for the land on which the maritime academy is expected to be built.
Even as uncertainties surround last week’s expedition to Delta state by the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)to ‘take delivery’ of the hectares of land for the second maritime academy, there are strong indications that the move have again, pitched the director general of the agency, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi against the ministry of transport.
The NIMASA had last Thursday led its top management team to Delta state to receive title deeds for the land on which the maritime academy is expected to be built.
The move is however been frowned at the supervisory ministry of transport where our correspondent was told last Friday that what the NIMASA director general did amounted to jumping the gun, because , according to our source, the report of the committee that was set up to examine the viability of establishing more maritime academies in the country.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that government had in 2011 constituted a Ministerial Committee on the Establishment of Maritime Academy.
The committee which was headed by NIMASA executive director, administration and finance, Mr Adeniran Aderogba recommended that three more academies should be established to complement Maritime Academy of Nigeria in Oron, Akwa Ibom state.
It was confirmed that not only did the committee recommend the establishment of three more academies, it also recommended short, medium, and long term measures that the Federal Government must embark upon to address the dearth of adequate manpower in the maritime sector.
Our correspondent was told that the chairman, House of Representatives, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was probably deceived into being a part of the team that inspected the sight on Friday. “He was not aware that the ministry had given the go- ahead, but as far as the House is concerned, it is still too early to comment”, a source at the House told our correspondent.
But at the ministry, we confirmed that the report of the committee was yet to be attended to by the schedule senior officer.
In fact, a visibly angry top official told our correspondent that what the DG did is condemnable. “I don’t understand why he (DG, NIMASA) did that, the recommendations are still being studied and it is not compulsory that government must accept all the recommendations, we are still expecting a White Paper on the report, what if the government says it does not want three academies, what if the government does not agree that i=one of the academies must be sited in Delta”, the senior officer stated.
He also confirmed that as far as the ministry is concerned, no action can be taken on the recommendations until the White Paper is out.
Shipping Position Daily confirmed at the weekend that the academy, which is to be located in Ekerenjojo in Gbaramatu kingdom of Delta state si actually conceived as a University and a shipyard.
Confirming the status of the institution after inspecting the site at Ekerenkoko, in Gbaramatu kingdom NIMASA’s Director-General also disclosed that work on the site will commence once the National Assembly grants approval.
But ministry sources explained that requests for such approvals can only come from the supervising ministry of transport.
Our sources also hinted that about 400 hectares of land has been allocated by the kingdom for the project which also confirmed that they would seek no compensation from the government for the land.
Giving this assurance, Chairman of the Ekerenkoko federated community Chief James Tangbolasi said “I want to assure that the people of Ekerenkoko federated community and Gbaramatu in kingdom in general will give you the desired assurance to make this dream a reality”.
The Gbaramatu Kingdom project may have put a final stop on the proposed Badagry, Lagos, campus of the Maritime Academy Oron. It was conceived in 2007, but since then, it has remained an abandoned project.
Discussion about this post