MAN ,Oron Governing Council Warns Against Conversion to University, Seeks NASS Review of Law

The Governing Council of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, has raised strong concerns over ongoing moves to convert the institution into a university, warning that such a decision could undermine Nigeria’s maritime development goals and erase decades of international recognition built by the Academy.

Speaking during a press briefing, Chairman of the Governing Council, Engr. Kehinde Olayinka Akinola, said the Academy established in 1977 with technical support from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was founded as a specialised institution for training shipboard officers, ratings, and maritime management personnel. He explained that the Academy’s enabling law, now Cap M3 LFN 2010, empowers it to run advanced maritime programmes without limitation on the type or level of certificates awarded, a structure consistent with global maritime training standards.

Akinola warned that replacing the Academy with the proposed University of Maritime Studies, Oron, would distort its specialised mandate, weaken its regimented cadet training system, and threaten established international affiliations. He noted that the IMO’s long standing technical support and recognition of the Academy could be jeopardised by an administrative restructuring that strips MAN of its unique identity.

A major concern, he noted, is that MAN would instantly lose access to the statutory 5% revenue allocation from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), as the NIMASA Act recognizes only the Maritime Academy of Nigeria. This, he stressed, would create serious operational challenges for an institution that relies heavily on these funds to maintain its extensive training facilities and infrastructure.

Akinola attributed the push for conversion largely to agitations by youths from Oron Local Government, who he said have for years campaigned for the establishment of a university in the area. While acknowledging their right to demand development from government, he criticised the choice to pursue such aspirations by attempting to alter a national maritime institution serving the entire country. He argued that it was unjustifiable to prioritise the interest of a single local government over national strategic maritime needs.

The Council Chairman expressed concern over what he described as increasingly aggressive actions by the Oron Youth Movement (OYOM), including threats directed at the management and cadets of the Academy and smear campaigns aimed at halting the institution’s progress. He suggested that the activities may be politically driven, warning that such hostility poses risks to the Academy’s stability and the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope agenda.

Akinola reiterated that the current administration, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has positioned the Academy as a critical manpower engine for the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry. He disclosed that since the inauguration of the Academy’s Governing Council in October 2024, significant progress has been made, including the development of a five year strategic plan aligned with national blue economy goals and the approval of a Conditions of Service document for the Academy for the first time in 48 years. He added that a bill amending the UMSO Act to reaffirm MAN’s status and empower it to award degrees similar to the Nigerian Defence Academy and the Police Academy has already passed its first reading at the National Assembly.

He also highlighted efforts by the Academy to support host communities, including facilitating the restoration of electricity to Oron after eight years and installing solar powered streetlights as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Engr Akinola pointed to similar specialised maritime academies such as the United States Merchant Marine Academy in New York, the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport operated by the Arab League, and Kenya’s Bandari Maritime Academy, all of which award degrees while maintaining specialized maritime training structures.

He said the Governing Council remains committed to protecting the Academy’s mandate and fulfilling the vision of the President. He insisted that the Council “will not be intimidated or cowed by any group attempting to appropriate a national asset for narrow interests,”

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