Maritime University: Call Peterside To Order, IYC Urges FG

[caption id="attachment_16549" align="alignnone" width="680"]Dakuku Peterside, NIMASA DG[/caption]

Following a statement that Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, would not fund the Nigerian Maritime University, the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has called on the Federal Government to call the Director-General, Dr Dakuku Peterside, to order.

The group in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mr. Eric Omare, said Peterside was not serving the interest of the Federal Government as he was “making statements to truncate the peace process.

“The statement was made in bad faith and calculated to aggravate the volatile security situation in the Niger Delta region. The Federal Government should call its appointees such as Dr. Peterside to order in the interest of peace in the Niger Delta region.

Advertisement

“In the first place, NMU, Okerenkoko, was an initiative of the agency, a budget of N2 billion was made available for its take-off by NIMASA and even recently, during the public hearing by the Senate, on the bill seeking to establish the university, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of NIMASA, expressed the readiness of the agency to fund the institution.

“Furthermore, section 16 of the NIMASA Act enjoins the agency to set aside five percent of its revenue for the development of manpower in the maritime sector, which include the Maritime Academy, Oron and Maritime University, Okerenkoko.

“In the light of these facts, one begins to wonder whose interest Peterside is serving by his contradictory statement that the agency would not fund the Maritime University. We are surprised that while the Federal Government through the Vice President’s office, is working very hard to restore peace to the Niger Delta region, Peterside, who ought to be part and parcel of the process is making statements to truncate the peace process.”

The IYC reminded Peterside that he is not the first Director General of NIMASA and would not be the last and at the end of his tenure as Director General, NIMASA, he would return home to Opobo.”

Leave a comment

Advertisement