Sam Udoma
The Senator representing Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District, Ekong Sampson, has raised concerns over the delay in the take-off of the University of Maritime Studies, Oron, five years after enactment of the bill into law.
The institution, which was founded in 1977, was upgraded from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, to University of Maritime Studies, Oron, after a report laid by Senator Akon Eyakenyi who then represented Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District in the Senate.
Then, Sandy Onuh from Cross River, in a presentation on behalf of the committee chairman, Ahmad Babba Kaita (APC-Katsina), said upgrading the academy into a university would help Nigeria in achieving the prerequisites of the International Maritime Organisation Convention on standard of training, certification and watch-keeping for seafarers.
Following an Act of Parliament, former but the late President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the law in 2021.
Also read: Senate Okays Maritime Academy Of Nigeria As University
Sampson, who raised his point during deliberations as a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, noted that despite the change in legal status, the institution was yet to fully commence operations as a university.
The issue was brought to the fore during the budget defence of the Senate Committee on Marine and Blue Economy with the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
Also read: Ex-Maritime Academy staffer bags 110-year imprisonment for N22m contract fraud
The engagement is part of the ongoing interface between the Senate Committee on Appropriations and Chairmen of other Senate Committees to appraise the 2026 budget estimates of their respective ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), ahead of the budget passage.
Describing the upgrade as a landmark development, Sampson stressed that the transformation of the academy into a university was of immense importance to the people of Oro nation, Akwa Ibom South and Akwa Ibom State at large, particularly in view of Nigeria’s aspirations in the marine and blue economy sector.
He informed the committee that there had been considerable pressure from constituents at home, who were eager to see the institution function in line with its new status.
The lawmaker tasked the Committee on Marine and Blue Economy to expedite necessary actions to ensure the take-off of the university under its new legal framework.
Senator Sampson has been a strong advocate for the take-off of the University of Maritime Studies, Oron, led a delegation of Oro stakeholders to a meeting with Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on the institution last year.
Sampson has equally been committed to widening the flanks of tertiary education in Akwa Ibom South.
The Mkpat Enin-born politician has sponsored a Bill to provide legal teeth to the establishment of the Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi (now at Third Reading), and another Bill for the establishment of a Federal University of Medical Sciences, Eket – to complete a tripod of tertiary institutions among the three federal constituencies of Akwa Ibom South.
Corroborating Sampson’s stance, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, warned that the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy might be courting legal complications if it continued to receive appropriations for an institution whose status had changed, yet still presented it in the budget as a mere academy.
According to him, proper alignment between the institution’s legal status and its budgetary classification was essential to avoid potential infractions and ensure transparency in public expenditure.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine and Blue Economy, Senator Wasiu Eshilokun, had presented the budgetary projections of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and its agencies for possible review and consideration.
Senator Eshilokun, however, assured the committee that the matter would be carefully examined to ensure appropriate administrative and legislative action is taken in line with the law.
