By Stephen Ubanna
Bashir Jamoh, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, appears to have gladdened the heart of the people of Delta state, when he restated ‘’the Agency’s commitment to the development of the Nigerian Maritime University,NMU, Okerenkoko Delta State, south-south Nigeria.
The NIMASA , Director General had made the doiisclosure when a delegation from the Maritime University paid a visit to the NIMASA Management in Lagos, nation’s commercial nerve- centre recently. He noted that despite handing over the university to the National University Commission, the Agency is still committed ‘’to supporting the NMU by completing projects it had initiated over the last couple of years.
While advising the Management of the NMU to seek national and international accreditations to ensure certificates from the school enjoy global recognition, Jamoh urged the management ‘’to seek collaboration with the World Maritime University,WMU, in Sweden, amongst other specialised higher institutions of learning to achieve the feat.

The NIMASA boss had said that the“NMU, can conveniently bridge the gap in terms of human capacity deficiency in the Nigerian Maritime sector’’. The NIMASA elmsman noted that all that the management needed to do is to seek collaboration with similar specialized institutions and ensure that NMU certificates enjoy global recognition.’’ Our goal is to seek top level manpower development from NMU instead of the current situation where institutions abroad are preferred to Nigerian based’’, he had said.
The NIMASA DG stated that despite handing over the University to the National University Commission, the Agency still makes budgetary provisions for NMU to ensure the completion of the projects NIMASA initiated in the university in 2018. “Our belief is that a well-funded NMU will greatly enhance youth employment and engagement particularly in the Niger Delta Region of the country’’, stating that the agency’s financial commitment to the NMU was based on principle of capacity development.” He said.
Commenting on the Modular Floating Dock, the NIMASA boss noted that experts from the manufacturers of the Floating Dock have been in Nigeria for over a month ‘’working on the nitty gritty of deploying the dockyard’’. He was said to have informed the NMU Management that the facility will be available for students from the University for Practical Experience when it becomes functional.
He had said tha“experts from the Modular floating dockyard manufacturing firm who have been in the country for quite a while now, are providing the technical support and working on how’’ to deploy the dockyard productively’’. He noted that when he gave them a deadline recently to complete the project they were forced to speak out
. Hear him: I was given a professional advice not to rush the deployment. If we have waited this long, we might as well wait a while longer and ensure we don’t regret a deployment in a hurry. Our students from NMU and other institutions will be welcomed for practical experience in mechanical, electrical, wielding, and other areas when we begin full operation.
Jamoh revealed that a ‘’proposal to convert the NIMASA Science and Technical college Okoloba to a campus of the Nigerian Maritime University is currently under consideration’’. “Our facilities at the Science and Technical College Okoloba, also in Delta State are grossly being underutilized. ‘’A proposal to hand over the facility to the Management of the University is under consideration’’, he remarked.
Bello Dukuku Salihu, who had represented the Chairman of the NMU governing board at the NMU, management visist to NIMASA, HAD said that, “the school is in the process of signing a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with the Ghana Maritime University.
He commended NIMASA for constantly supporting the University. Okoloba NMU, management team, were said to have expressed delight at ‘’the clarification about the Modular Floating Dockyard which they had perceived belonged to the school.”
Osagie Edward, an Assistant Director and the agency spokesperson, had said that the NMU, management were satisfied with the explanation given to them by the multi- billion naira floating dockyard. This is evident with the team response.
‘’With better understanding about the history and technicalities involved in the Floating dockyard, we are satisfied with the steps the NIMASA management is taking”, to put the modula floating dockyard into operation’’, the team posited.