Maritime varsity: If Amaechi doesn’t want it, I will take it in Petroleum – Kachikwu slams Amaechi

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, has taken a swipe at his counterpart, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on the establishment and maintenance of the Maritime University in Akwa-Ibom.
During the South-South Town Hall Meeting, Monday in Uyo, the Akwa-Ibom State capital, organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Kachikwu expressed his disagreement over Amaechi’s position on the project.
Amaechi had cancelled the proposed the university citing costs and also the fact another similar institution exists in Delta state.
“I disagree with the minister of transport. Any facility in the South-south, we should work towards developing it, I don’t care the circumstance. It is not my business whether land was valued at 19 or 10 million,” he said responding to Amaechi’s claim that land for the university was valued at N13 billion.
“That has nothing to do with development of infrastructure. As far as I know, so much has already gone into that, so much fiscal asset has been developed. We are not going to throw away the baby and the bath water.
“We’ll deal with the issues but the university will be developed. If he (Amaechi) doesn’t want it in maritime, I will take it in Petroleum.
“On the issue of negotiations, again I disagree with him. There’s no theatre in the world where conflicts are being resolved through battle. It doesn’t matter who’s right, who’s wrong.”
On why oil block allocations favoured the North rather than the South-south, where most oil blocks are located, Kachikwu explained that President Muhammadu Buhari has not allocated a single oil block since he came into office.
Kachikwu said when the president eventually starts, South-south indigenes would have their share, adding further that this was not the doing of President Buhari, as he emphasized that the president would follow due process in allocation of oil blocks when the time comes.
Similarly, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the Federal Government is committed to ensuring that there will be no communication gap between the government and the governed.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who said this at Uyo during the South-South Town Hall Meeting on Monday in Uyo, explained that the essence of the exercise, organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, was to give account of the stewardship of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“The government believes that in order to get its message to the people undiluted and unabridged , it is important to reach them directly.
“The Federal Government has been doing this through other platforms, including press releases, press conferences, appearance on radio and television programmes and newspaper interviews, “he said.
Muhammed said that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government promised to tackle insecurity, fight corruption and revive the economy and that it was on course to make Nigeria a better and developed country.
The Governor of Akwa Ibom, Mr Udom Emmanuel, described the meeting as an important task.
Emmanuel said that when Nigerians were regularly engaged and their input on the mechanics of governance sought, challenges explained and solutions proffered, apathy and alienation would be eliminated.
According to the governor, such symbiotic relationship will lead to better informed populace.
He said the meeting would help steer Nigerians to have a more optimistic view of their government and its capacity to meet their expectations and hopes.