Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, has made a case for the upgrading of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, to a degree-awarding institution.
Akpabio, making the call on Friday after receiving President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval for the establishment of Federal Polytechnic in Ukana from the Minister of Education, Honourable Nyesom Wike, at Governor’s Office, Uyo, explained that the institution awards National Diploma and Higher National Diploma to qualified students.
The governor said his call was hinged on the Federal Government’s earlier pledge to establish a Maritime University in the state, calling for the upgrading of Akwa Ibom Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, to a degree-awarding institution.
He applauded President Jonathan’s interest in the education sector that had led to the establishment of 10 federal universities in the country and Almajiris schools in the North, assuring the Federal Government of the continuous support and prayers of the people of the state towards the administration of President Jonathan.
On the approval given for the establishment of a Federal Polytechnic in the state, the governor attributed its success to his loyalty to the president, and reasoned though that he had proposed the institution to be sited at the premises of the state polytechnic, on a second thought, he decided to take it to a neutral ground to avoid losing the state institution as it happened to defunct University of Cross River State when University of Uyo was sited there.
He said: “Our state is a state on the right track in the educational sector. Already, we have introduced the free and compulsory education in the state for the benefit of all the children in the state, and the Federal Polytechnic in the state is a welcome development.”
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