*Commends Tompolo Foundation, others
By; UTEBOR PETER, Asaba
The House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety Education and Administration at the weekend, said that it will do its best to ensure the Nigeria Maritime Academy (NMU) is funded so that it can compete favourably just like other universities outside Nigeria.
The committee members also said the major challenges facing the Nigeria Maritime Academy in OkerenKoko is inadequate funding
The House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, led by Hon Udua Odudoh disclosed that the bill establishing the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State is to be passed into law as quickly as possible.
The chairman of the committee, Uduak Odudoh, made the disclosure, while addressing newsmen shortly after assessing the NMU facilities in Okerenkoko and Kurutie, during an oversight visit by the committee, where he promised that they would expedite action to ensure the passage of the bill.
The Federal Lawmaker said, The bill establishing the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko in Gbaramatu kingdom, Warri South-West LG is to be passed into law soon.
“The major problem facing the Nigeria Maritime Academy OkerenKoko is inadequate funding, so we will do our best to ensure the university is funded that the university can also compete favourably just like other universities outside Nigeria.
“We thank the leadership of the host communities for ensuring absolute peace in the area as well as providing a large expanse of land for the University.
“We will also do everything as a parliament and include in our budget the building of a standard clinic in the university because of its distance from the upland.
“The House of Representatives would attend to all the challenges confronting the university.
“The House Committee commends the Tompolo Foundation for contributing over 40 per cent of the development of the institution and thanks the leadership of the host communities for ensuring absolute peace in the area as well as providing a large expanse of land for the university.
“There is no fence and also we will do everything as a parliament to ensure that even in our budget, we will also include the building of standard clinic. Because from upland to this place that we’ve just gone, it takes more than one hour and if somebody falls sick, you need medical attention, in that place, there is no good medical. But I thank God for the security of this place, you’ve good security. The security of this place is very attainable for the community, who has ensured that the security is not a challenge for the students and the staff.
“And so when we go back as a committee, thank God, you know, especially those of my brothers from the northern part of Nigeria who are here for the first time, we would have had many of them, you know, recently they started the Ramadan fasting and so but I want to assure the Vice Chancellor and the people here, we will be coming from time to time, when we go back, we’ll look at your budgets.
“When it’s necessary we will increase. I will also ensure that we’ll reach out to the relevant agency especially. From records in 2022 NIMASA even tried to do some releases, in 2023, there was a great decrease. And So we find out the reason, thank God we have a new DG recently appointed by Mr. President a few days ago and work in collaboration with every other agencies to ensure that the place is founded.
“The major problem of this place is inadequate funding, that. And so we’ll do our best to ensure that the place is funded so that they can also compete favourably. Not like other universities outside Nigeria.
“On the bill. Recently, the bill unfortunately passed, and it was passed by the previous house. It was not assented to by Mr. Presidents. And so the bill is now before the Senate from the information available to us, it has passed to second reading and also in the House of Reps.
“And so we are going to work with the speed of light to ensure that, that bill is passed. And once the bill is passed, also, because the legislature is all about lobbying, we will also ensure that we reach out to relevant people to ensure that the bill is passed into law.
“And so that the university can start very well with its own acts because like Maritime Academy, Oron has it acts and that is why oran is even more found than here, because compulsory constitutionally by the act of NIMASA. They are supposed to remove 5% of your earnings to replace and that is our main source of funding. So we also ensure that the bill is passed as you go back so that every other thing that should come to the university will not be denied,” he said.
On his part, The Vice-Chancellor appealed to the Federal Government to build staff houses as well as ensure increased funding for the institution.
“This university was initiated by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). We are pleading with them to increase the funding to enable us to have more staff,” he said.
Meanwhile, the House Committee had earlier in the day, visited the Pere of Gbaramatu kingdom, Oboro-Gbaraun ll, Aketekpe, Agadagba at his annex palace in Warri to intimate him on their oversight visit during which the royal father urged the committee to ensure speedy passage of a bill that established the university and accented to by President Bola Tinubu to become an Act.
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