By PROVIDENCE OBUH

Inadequate funding has become a barrier to the development of the Maritime Academy (MAN) Oron, Akwa Ibom State, says Rector of the institution, Mr. Joshua Okpo. This is attributed to an increase in the number of cadets/student admitted into the Academy.

Okpo lamented while giving an address at the Passing out Parade of cadets/student of the Academy, saying “the major challenge confronting this Academy is funding. Our vision and drive for rapid development of this school so as to bring out its best is often slowed by inadequate funding.”

Continued, he explained that with the increased intake of the regular National Diploma, Higher National Diploma, Post Graduate Diploma and various short courses, the available facilities are obviously being stretched.

Despite effort by the Minister of Transport for better funding of the Academy, representations have been made to the National Assembly through its committee on Transport on the need to improve the financial status particularly in the area of budgetary allocation, he explained.

He implored Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to improve on the agency act 2007, which provides that the agency remits to the Academy at least five per cent of its generated revenue annually.

“Helping us to access fund to buy a vessel under the NIMASA can help this Academy. We are calling on the private sector stakeholders like the oil companies, marine surveyors’ outfits, boat yards, seaport terminal operators, shipping lines, crewing agents and many others who operate in Nigeria to contribute to the funding of this Academy.”

Alluding the relevance of the Academy, which can not be overemphasized, he said, continuity consistency and commitment are the three things propelling the Academy to attain the enviable maritime training institution.

He stated further that with Nigeria’s generation of over 70 per cent of the cargo in West Africa, it should be the provider of over 50 per cent of the workforce on board vessels.

However, he said the eulogy that Nigeria is the giant of Africa, places on her, the challenge of building its national institutions and assets to commensurate with the status, disclosing that MAN had intensified the drive to be ranked among the two best Maritime Academies in Africa and among the top ten in the world by the year 2020.

“Beyond making Nigeria a product of skilled maritime workforce, we are striving to commence exporting manpower in this strategic area of global commerce and filling the existing gaps that propelled the government to initiate and pursue a National Seafarers’ Development Programme (NSDP) under which youths drawn from various states of the federation are taken abroad for maritime training,” he said.