The Oron Stakeholders Forum on Monday expressed concern over the continued non-operational status of the University of Maritime Studies, Oron (UMSO), about four years after its establishment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the university was established by an Act of the National Assembly and signed into law by the late President Muhammadu Buhari government on Feb. 16, 2023.
The group, at a press briefing in Abuja, said the prolonged delay in activating the university might undermine the country’s maritime development ambitions.
The stakeholders, who addressed the journalists through Prof. Emmanuel Onwioduokit, former Commissioner of Economic Development, Akwa Ibom, along with the Chairman of the forum, Dr Ukwo Inuikim-Obon and the Secretary, Mr Benedict Ukpong, said Nigeria might also lose critical opportunities in the blue economy sector.
They said despite years of advocacy, legislative processes, stakeholder engagements and eventual presidential assent, the university still existed only “on paper,” with no substantive operational structures in place.
“A university that exists in law must also exist in reality,” the forum said.
The group traced the institution’s origin to recommendations made in 2008 by the Niger Delta Development Technical Committee, which proposed the upgrade of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, into a full-fledged maritime university.
They said despite signing the bill into law, the appointment of principal officers, constitution of governing structures and commencement of academic activities were yet to materialise.
The group expressed concern that despite engagements with the National Universities Commission (NUC), including consultations with relevant ministries and mobilisation efforts by stakeholders, the university remained dormant.
They queried the Federal Government over what they described as an unusually slow implementation process.
The group asked why the appointment of a substantive vice-chancellor and other principal officers had not been concluded, and why the Governing Council was yet to be fully constituted.
“This issue goes beyond Oron,” the stakeholders said.
They said that the university was conceived as a national centre for maritime excellence, a driver of Nigeria’s blue economy, a hub for maritime research and innovation, and a platform for youth employment and educational advancement.
They said that every additional delay would translate into lost educational opportunities, weakened public confidence and stalled regional economic development.
The group therefore called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene by ensuring the immediate operationalisation of the institution.
They sought immediate appointment of a vice-chancellor and principal officers, with full constitution of the Governing Council, among others.
“We are not demanding special treatment. We are asking that an existing federal law be fully implemented,” the forum stated.
They said the university is not merely a regional project but a national institution critical to Nigeria’s maritime future.
The group said it had engaged relevant authorities, including the leadership of the National Assembly, without any positive outcome, hence, the need for the media briefing.
