Maritime varsity boosting N/Delta economy

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has said the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, will promote socioeconomic development while promoting stability in the Niger Delta region.

Okowa while playing host to the Director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, in Asaba, said the university which was established in 2017, with the active support of NIMASA, had a stabilising effect on the people.

“Indeed, the coming of the university gave birth to peace in the Niger Delta and we must appreciate NIMASA for its contribution. I am glad that a lot is being done by NIMASA, particularly in Delta State, and we will continue to appreciate it so that you will continue to do more,” Okowa stated.

The governor pledged to cooperate with the maritime regulatory agency in the building of a virile blue economy in the country, with a strong maritime business base in the state.

Jamoh and his executive management team were in the state as part of a sensitisation drive to get the buyin of the coastal states in the current attempt to develop maritime as the pivot of the country’s economic diversification effort.

“Our maritime sector is a huge treasure trove of development opportunities. The sector can fetch us even much more than oil, as recent studies by experts, including the World Bank, have shown.

“Opportunities for profitable investment abound in shipbuilding, ship repairs, ship recycling, and shipping,” he said.