The Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) has set up some committees to midwife its 25th anniversary slated for December this year.
The committees are: Event Planning, Award, Mobilisation and Publicity, Research and Marketing.
Inaugurating the committees at the International Maritime Press Centre in Apapa, Lagos, the President of the association, Mr. Bolaji Akinola, charged the committees to work assiduously and come up with plans to make the anniversary a success.
Akinola explained that the event was being targeted at drawing the attention of the Federal Government on the need to further exploit and harness the potentials of the maritime industry for the good of the Nigerian economy.
He said the celebration, which would take place from December 6 to 12, 2013, was meant to take stock of the contributions of the association to the development of the nation’s maritime industry since its establishment in 1988.
Justifying the essence of the committees, Akinola said the programmes involved in planning and organising the anniversary would overwhelm one committee to handle and so the need for more committees.
MARAN is an affiliate of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ).
The president stressed that other programmes lined up for the MARAN at 25 celebration include visit to a motherless babies’ home, novelty football match, a health walk and thanksgiving service to be held both in a church and a mosque respectively.
He said there would be the presentation of awards/honours to deserving maritime personalities who have contributed significantly in shaping the industry over the past 25 years.
Akinola said MARAN had contributed immensely to the growth and development of the Nigerian maritime industry hence the need to project the association’s contribution during the 25th Anniversary Celebration.
According to him: “We want to identify those who have made it possible for us to have come this far.”
Akinola also said that the association’s permanent secretariat appeal fund will be launched during the silver jubilee.
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