By Sunny Edemenang – Uyo
The Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, is becoming a maritime powerhouse in West and Central Africa under the leadership of Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.
According to Chairman of the 6th Governing Council, Engr. Kehinde Akinola, “Maritime Academy of Nigeria is among the very best maritime training institutions in West and Central Africa.”
The Academy has over the years, remained a cornerstone of human capacity development for the maritime industry. Under the watch of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, the success story is milestoning the institution to a maritime powerhouse of West and Central Africa.
Earlier, the Minister in his keynote address commended the management and staff of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria led by the Acting Rector, Dr. Kevin Okonna for fiscal prudence, dedication and commitment, noting that, “your contributions have been instrumental in shaping the progress we celebrate today”.
Also, under the policy direction of the Governing Council, the development of a comprehensive 5-Year Strategic Development Plan has been initiated for the institution. The Development Plan will be a strategic blueprint to accelerate institutional reforms, enhance training standards, deepen industry linkages as well as reposition the maritime.
The Minister reiterated the resolve of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, to operationalize the newly approved National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy in which one of the central pillars is manpower development.
“We are committed to ensuring that our seafarers, cadets, and maritime professionals are not only globally competitive but also well equipped to drive the growth and sustainability of this sector”, the Minister added.
Other achievements that define the current state of development of the academy in ten months of the present management of the Governing Council encompass;
*curricular development of Port State Control Course for the training of Port State Control Officers in the West African subregion.
* Highlighting the Academy as a frontline institution in maritime education and training globally.
* Procurement of more simulators and maintenance of infra and superstructures characterized by Global demand and technological requirements to give cadets qualitative training with attractive career prospects, amongst others.
From the press briefing of the Acting Rector, the Academy expects to graduate on 13th November, 2025 another set of over 200 well-trained cadets who are all members of major professional bodies with access to vast resources for Continuing Professional Development and networking with the very best in their professions;
A total of 4595 participants were trained in short courses in 2024. The institution had already received and trained a total of 3217 participants as at August 2025 in the 48 mandatory short courses and Certificates of Competency preparatory classes, including 12 simulator-based courses, on offer in the institution.
This year’s third quarterly Citizens’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement session organized by MAN, Oron, took place at the Main Auditorium on Tuesday, 16th September 2025, under the theme: “Implementation of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy for Onboard Training of Nigerian Merchant Navy Cadets and the Critical Needs of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria”.
In attendance were members of the Board of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria and Management of the Academy. Others were; Staff of Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Stakeholders and the public.
