According to the minister, the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government is also not convinced that the Nigerian Maritime University is well situated as it thinks that many parents would not want to send their children to the university situated in the heart of the creeks in Delta State.
The minister of transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, revealed the position of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration concerning the proposed maritime university during his appearance before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, headed by Senator Ahmed Sani.
The NIMASA, under the previous administration, established six maritime institutes and departments at some universities across the country as part of efforts to encourage maritime studies by Nigerian youths and rekindle the seafaring career in the country. The agency has also sponsored over 2,000 cadets in the last five years at some universities abroad under the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP). Maritime industry stakeholders had criticised the agency for patronising universities abroad instead of undertaking the NSDP at home universities.
The Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron, Akwa Ibom State, has its lifeblood in subventions from the NIMASA, but the agency under the Goodluck Jonathan administration and Patrick Akpobolokemi management decided to build another institution for maritime studies, the Nigerian Maritime University, as a degree awarding maritime institution. Academic activities were billed to begin late 2015 at the university’s temporary campus at Kurutie, another Ijaw community near Okerenkoko.
Amaechi said, “We are not going ahead with the university project proposed by the NIMASA because we have a maritime institution in Oron. We have the Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, and we have the Nigerian College of Aviation, Zaria, which we could upgrade to a university status; yet the NIMASA is proposing to build a new one.
“Who will attend the university? How many parents will allow their children to go to the proposed site of the university? What is the aim of the university that we cannot achieve in Oron where they have all the necessary infrastructure?
“I don’t think we are proceeding with the university being proposed by the NIMASA because it is a waste of resources. Unfortunately, a lot of money had already been released for the university project even though there is no structure on ground but just the feasibility study. Whoever is holding onto the money should better return it. The Chinese company contracted confirmed that only the feasibility study is in place.”
The minister also lambasted the former administration of the agency for using it as a conduit pipe. Akpobolokemi is currently facing trial over N13 billion said to have been paid for the acquisition of land for the university.
“The NIMASA was worse in the last administration. It was as if it was established just for the purpose of collecting money and nothing more. What we need to do is to ensure that NIMASA discharges its core responsibilities.
