By Yemi Olakitan
The Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom, must be upgraded to a university that grants degrees, according to Prince Ademola Adegoroye, Minister of State for Transportation.
According to a statement released on Friday by Ebenezer Adeniyan, Adegoroye made this comment on Thursday during the school’s 2022 Cadets Graduation ceremony.
He claimed that Nigeria was looking for technical assistance from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to upgrade the organisation, which he called a source of national pride.
The fact that Nigeria has benefited from IMO Technical Assistance in the field of capacity training is heartening.
To improve our ability to address the rapidly rising demand for maritime education and training in Nigeria, there is a need to seek out stronger technical cooperation between the IMO and Nigeria.
“These needs include, but are not limited to, assistance from the IMO in furthering the education of the lecturers, instructors, and other staff at the academy.
“Technical support from the IMO in transforming the academy into a degree-awarding institution and utilising the academy as a sales-point for high-demand IMO books and publications among trainees.
“And increased participation of the academy in IMO workshops, conferences, and other events.”
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The minister joined other event participants in praising the academy’s rector for turning around the institution’s fortunes in recent years.
He exhorted the graduates to represent the institution honourably wherever they went.
Retired Commodore Duja Effedua, the academy’s rector, made a commitment during his presentation to keep working hard to ensure that the academy was recognised as one of the world’s top educational institutions.
Effedua also expressed his gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Transportation for helping the organisation.
“When I started, we were fighting against a subpar training standard, an overcrowded cadet environment, and a demoralised workforce.
“Among other things, there was infrastructure depreciation, poor facility upkeep, a lack of teaching resources, and a temporary library without the necessary reference materials.
But during the past five years, we have been able to change that.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), 233 cadets obtained National Diplomas (ND) and Higher National Diplomas (HND) from the institution, with Mesaiyete Omotayo being named the Best All-Round Graduating Cadet.
Three of the top graduating Cadets received jobs and scholarships from Starzs Investments Company right away.
Additionally, two of the most diligent Cadets were hired right away by Bricks Nigeria Ltd.
