By ADAKU WALTER
Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has charged management of the Nigerian Maritime University (NMU), Okerenkoko, Delta State, to seek national and international accreditations to ensure that certificates from the school are accorded global recognition.
He urged management of the university to seek collaboration with the World Maritime University (WMU) and other specialised higher institutions of learning to bridge the gap in human capacity deficiency in the Nigerian maritime sector, The Trumpet gathered.
Jamoh stated this when a delegation from the university visied NIMASA in Lagos, saying: “Nigeria Maritime University can conveniently bridge the gap in terms of human capacity deficiency in the Nigerian Maritime sector.
“All it needs to do is to seek collaboration with similar specialised institutions and ensure that NMU certificates enjoy global recognition. Our goal is to seek top level manpower development from the NMU instead of the current situation where institutions abroad are preferred to their Nigerian counterparts.”
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Jamoh, who restated the agency’s commitment towards the development of the NMU, said despite handing over the university to the National Universities Commission (NUC), NIMASA still makes budgetary provisions for it to ensure the completion of projects it initiated in the university.
“Our belief is that a well-funded NMU will greatly enhance youth employment and engagement particularly in the Niger Delta Region of the country. Our financial commitment to NMU is based on principle of capacity development,” he said.
Commenting on the Modular Floating Dock, he noted that experts from the manufacturers of the dockyard have been in Nigeria over a month working on the nitty-gritty of deploying the dockyard.
He also informed the NMU management that the facility would be available for students of the university and other institutions for practical experience, when it becomes operational.
Jamoh also disclosed that a proposal to convert the under-utilised NIMASA Science and Technical College (NSTC), Okoloba to a campus of NMU was being considered.
On his part, the Chairman of the NMU governing board, Dr. Elias Courson, who commended NIMASA for its continued support for the university, said the school was in the process of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Maritime University (GMU).
Courson, who was represented by a member of the board, Bello Salihu, also commended NIMASA for clarification on the history and technicalities of the modular floating dockyard, which they had thought belonged to the school.
