By Isaiah Eka

The Federal Government has urged the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, to embrace reforms that would enhance performance and accountability in the academy.

Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, gave the charge on Thursday in his remarks at a two-day Management Retreat in Oron.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the retreat is on Ministerial Handholding Session for Performance Management System (PMS) and the Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS).

Oyetola, represented by Hajia Ibrahim Kalthum, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS) in the ministry, said that the retreat aimed at driving a successful implementation of the PMS and ECMS in the academy.

He said that the ministry embarked on the reforms to strengthen performance, as well as promote accountability and digital transformation across all its agencies in line with the strategic vision of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

“The Maritime Academy of Nigeria, as Nigeria’s foremost maritime education and training institution, must lead by example in embracing these reforms, and the ministry is glad that the academy is taking these key reforms seriously,” Oyetola said.

He noted that while the PMS strategically aligned every staff and department to deliver on the ministry’s mandate and academy’s core objectives, the ECMS on the other hand streamlined and digitalised records, processes and workflows thereby promoting efficiency, transparency, and timely decision-making.

According to him, the performance management system is not merely about staff appraisals but fundamentally about strategic execution of tasks and that goals are cascaded seamlessly from the national level to institutional, departmental and finally to individual.

“Staff performance is assessed objectively using well-defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) while capacity gaps are identified and addressed through targeted training and development.

“For the MAN, the reforms will translate into improved training outcome, global competitiveness, and enhanced service delivery to cadets, seafarers and stakeholders in the maritime industry.”

The minister commended the Acting Rector of the Academy, Dr Kevin Okonna, for his commitment towards effectively implementing the performance management system reform of the Federal Government in the institution.

Okonna, in his presentation, listed the academy’s contributions in 2024 ministry’s deliverables to include; training of 4,775 seafarers and dockworkers, provision of laptops and desktops to more staff to improve productivity.

The acting rector added that there was increased staff capacity building drive to promote expertise and improve standards, implementation of the PMS of the Federal Government to promote accountability, amongst others.

He assured that the retreat would enhance the capacity of the academy’s management to deliver on the 2025 academy’s deliverables for the assigned presidential priorities. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Deborah Coker