Church agog as Rector, MAN Oron holds thanksgiving

 …Warns politicians against sabotage

 Stakeholders, well wishers and friends of the Rector, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, Oron, Amb. (Dr.) Joshua Okpo, recently in large number converged at the Testimony Assembly, Oron, for a thanksgiving service in honour of the Rector over his reappointment for a second term of four years by President Buhari. Speaking at the thanksgiving service, the Rector recalled that his journey to Oron was a great task, particularly when he was a Director in the Federal Ministry of Transport and had dreamt of becoming a Permanent Secretary in the course of the service as a career public servant.


 Describing himself as a vessel assigned to make peace in the Academy, as the Academy was nearly enmeshed in succession crisis coupled with communal war in the host community which threatened the existence of the Academy, the Rector informed the Church, well wishers, friends and critical stakeholders in the maritime sector that that journey had entered its second phase, assuring all not to harbour any doubt in mind as to the  integrity of his administration since the Academy under his careful watch, was coasting towards a degree-awarding status, having put all the necessary structures in place.
Explaining that MAN, Oron was not to be converted into a conventional university such as University of Calabar, or University of Uyo, but was conceived as a Nautical College to train sea farers and marine engineers. 
The Rector tipped the congregation that a Town Hall meeting would soon be organized to further enlighten the general public on the state of the Academy, noting that the Federal Ministry of Transport had been well guided and President Buhari fully briefed on the specialized nature of MAN, Oron as well as its international stake.
While disabusing the minds of those who mistakenly believed that somebody was scuttling the dream of MAN, Oron catapulting into a university, Amb. Okpo explained that MAN, Oron, needed not to be a secular university before awarding degrees, citing NDA and YABA polytechnic and others that are awarding degrees but were not universities by that nomenclature.
He said MAN Oron, has accreditation from Marine Coast Guard, International Maritime Organization (IMO), and Standard of Training Certification and Watch-keeping (STCW), hence was well positioned to award degrees.
On the needs of the Academy, the Rector said the Academy needed proper funding to procure training ship and other requisite facilities and assured that staff welfare would be vigorously pursued to enhance quality service delivery.
He appealed to Oro people and, indeed, Akwa Ibom people to give peace a chance and allow him to drive the policy direction of the Federal Government for the Academy.
Noting that the Academy was on a course with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the highest stakeholder and not Oron, Akwa Ibom State or Nigeria, the Rector reechoed that MAN, Oron, was established to train sea farers and marine engineers for the whole world, and saddled with the sole responsibility to churn out enough middle-level manpower for the global maritime market, saying the Academy’s focus is to apply itself in the global sea trade.
Earlier in his homily, the presiding Bishop of The Testimony Assembly, Pastor (Dr.) Kaiso Okpo expressed gratitude to the Management of MAN, Oron for taking the Thanksgiving Service to the Testimony Assembly, Oron and assured of God’s divine intervention in the affairs of the Academy.
Preaching on the theme “Understanding the working power of God’s Grace”, Pastor Kaiso Okpo defined grace as unmerited favour given to man by God, stressing that grace was about God using His ability in entrusting a man to do His purpose on earth for God’s glory.
Drawing his text from 1Cor. 15:10 and Zachariah 4:7, the cleric reminded politicians that power belongs to God. The man of God observed that the peace of God was upon the Rector, and assured the Rector that his second term might not be easy since satan does not fight anything that is not good, but had seen something significant about the Rector. He recalled that David was being pursued by King Saul even when David committed no crime, noting that God would sustain the Rector to do His will in the Academy.
The Clergy man, however, maintained that grace  can be sustained by unbroken focus, intelligent reasoning, making opportunity from troubles, character development, possessing basic human feelings, helping the poor through association with them, thankfulness and knowledge of God.
Highpoint of the event was the outpouring of God’s blessings upon the Rector and his Management team.