As Effedua repositions Maritime Academy of Nigeria
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i am disappointed particularly over abandoned projects and the large areas of land that have not been developed. we have a lot to do1 a news analysis by taiye elebiyo-edeni1 an academy formerly known as the nautical college of nigeria was established in 1979 as to educate and train shipboard officers ratings and shore-based management personnel1 however the academy was only able to graduate its first set of cadets in 1983 after which the academy still grappled with so much challenges1 for the rector of the academy commodore emma effedua restructuring and repositioning the school is tops on the agenda of the federal government which he had pledged to drive to the fullest1 for him there is no challenge or shortcoming which the school currently faces that is not surmountable1 effedua itemized some of the problems bedeviling the school to include uncompleted projects owing to lack of funds1 he proposes the conversion of some of the buildings in the school to hotels from which money can be generated to execute other critical projects1 the rector disclosed that management was already at the point of getting permission to effect the conversion adding that the hotel could also house students on short courses1 effedua noted that the restructuring and repositioning of the academy was timely as international maritime organisation imo was gradually losing hope in nigeria producing quality seafarers1 he promised that the new management and the governing board will work together in few months on the infrastructure and cadets to get the required training expected by imo standard1 the federal government had on march 9 2018 inaugurated the governing board of five agencies under the ministry of transportation including man board headed by ademola seriki1 the board saw an urgent need to inspect the academy facilities towards its restructuring to arrest the deteriorating state in line with its mandate and core values1 mr ademola seriki chairman of the governing board decried the level of abandoned projects and obsolete infrastructure in the academy1 he observed that some of the equipment purchased 25 years back dotted the foundry shop of the institution and underscored the need to replace them with modern ones1 for over 15 years the maritime academy of nigeria oron akwa ibom has been enmeshed in a myriad of challenges ranging from conflicts poor management infrastructural deficit to the core challenge of unqualified teachers1 we need to put the necessary infrastructure in place we must really work in synergy with our sister agencies like the nigeria port authority nimasa nigeria liquefied natural gas nlng and others1 we must build a relationship that will result in acquiring assets that will be of benefits to everyone he said1 however the chairman house committee on maritime safety education and administration mr mohammed umar-bago who also went on an oversight function had advised the management to sack the 83 staff employed in 2016 without due process1 the chairman said that the academy was a special school that needs professionals to train the cadets not just employing people that are not relevant to the mandate of the academy1 rector the issue of this 83 staff sacks them if their employment did not go through due process that is how touts are employed1 any employment that does not have approval means there was never any employment in the first place1 it does not make sense to have 700 staff in an academy of just 300 cadets. that means the academy is over bloated. i will encourage you to right-size. even if people dont like it it must still happen1 the lawmaker attributed the poor infrastructure to the debt the school owed contractors and urged the management to pay-off debts of contractors to enable them complete all abandoned projects1 umar-bago also charged the institute to address over 6000 petitions against the academy1 according to him the new management should avoid any form of petition against the academy and pay more attention to staff welfare and promotions1 i want to charge this management on staff welfare promotion and retirement this should be our focus for 2018 budget1 we want to reduce acrimony to zero per cent and reduce the issue of petition we also want to reduce every forms of dissatisfaction and lack of motivation among staff1 we have more than 6000 petitions against this academy only we dont have space for the petitions pay all your contractors. this school is indebted that is why we have so many uncompleted projects he said1 he expressed the willingness of the committee to support the management to move the institution forward saying it is sad seeing nigerians going outside the country for courses obtainable in the academy.nan1