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The House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration has expressed dismay that over 6000 petitions from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron in Akwa Ibom State, are currently before the National Assembly.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mohammed Umaru Bago, who disclosed this during an oversight visit to the academy at the weekend, issued a 30-day ultimatum to all contractors handling various abandoned projects at the academy to return to site or face revocation.
Bago enjoined the management of the academy to pay all outstanding debts to contractors.
He said: “When I went to NIMASA, I told them that if I receive any petition from anybody, I will come to the agency and announce the name of the petitioner. The same thing will apply here. If anybody writes petition here, I will call the person to come and defend his or her petition.
“I have more than 6000 petitions from this academy alone on my desk. And most of them are unfounded. I don’t have time for your petitions.
“I will encourage you to call all contractors of abandoned project for an interaction. Pay all outstanding debts and ask them to return to site. Any contractor that refuses to return to site after 30 days, revoke such contracts.
“Then, any work that is done without drawing, delegate your works department to get drawings on such jobs so that it can be maintained and refurbished.’ ’
The Rector, Emma Effedua, appreciated the legislators for the unwavering support and pledged to strengthen collaboration with all stakeholders.
Meanwhile, peeved by an appeal by a Lagos based Itsekiri group, Alpha May Club (AMC), urging President Muhammadu Buhari to withhold assent to the recently passed Nigerian Maritime University Bill, the Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-corruption Crusaders (FOHURAC), yesterday described the call as an invitation to anarchy in the Niger Delta region.
On March 16, 2018, Alpha May Club allegedly published an advertorial in a national daily urging the president to withhold his assent on the bill.
According to the National President of FOHURAC, Alaowei Cleric, there was no sense whatsoever in the said publication. AMC and their acolytes did not experience the bloody Warri ethnic crisis, hence they were instigating another bloody conflict between the Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic nationalities from their perceived safe location in Lagos.
He said: “The Maritime University, Okerenkoko has come to stay. It is a fox pass to give such provocative advice at this point in time. The NAS that passed the Bill into law has all the adverse claims in its domain before it gave the judgment in favour of Okerenkoko.’’
The rights group advised the AMC and its members to give peace a chance saying “we have had enough bloodbath in Warri and environs and we can’t go back to the days of horror and agony. Let us join hands together to confront our common enemies for our economic and political freedom.”
