Minister of Transport Senator Idris Umar has restated the determination of the present administration to address the human capacity deficiency in the maritime sector. Senator Umar stated this at the weekend when he paid a working visit to the abandoned training school of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Apapa as well as the equally abandoned Maritime Academy, Badagry, both in Lagos.
Minister of Transport Senator Idris Umar has restated the determination of the present administration to address the human capacity deficiency in the maritime sector. Senator Umar stated this at the weekend when he paid a working visit to the abandoned training school of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Apapa as well as the equally abandoned Maritime Academy, Badagry, both in Lagos.
Senator Umar expressed disappointment that such a well equipped training school could be left unattended to even when the nation is experiencing a dearth of skilled sea men, even as he assured that the present administration is committed to completing abandoned projects littered all over the country and that the NPA training school which had been the training ground of many seafarers and maritime workers will not be an exception.
He further said that the Ministry wants to look into making the training school very functional under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
Similarly at the Badagry site of the proposed Maritime Academy, the Minister expressed displeasure at the culture of abandonment of infrastructure, stating that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been mandated by President Goodluck Jonathan to evaluate all abandoned projects with a view to bringing life into them.
According to him, with the expected upsurge in activities in the sector coupled with the current shortage of seafarers in the country, there is a need to put in place facilities that will address the obvious shortfall in human resources to complement what the Maritime Academy of Nigeria , Oron, Akwa Ibom State is already doing. He stated that Maritime Academy, Badagry will complement MAN, Oron.
Senator Umar also stated that because of President’s desire to see an improvement in maritime activities, the President had set up a committee to look into ways of further raising the bar in the maritime sector and that the committee had submitted its report.
He also said that very soon, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will forward names of recommended beneficiaries of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) to the ministry for approval.
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