|
Listen to article
|
The House of Representatives moved toward establishing a Federal College of Fisheries Technology and Marine Engineering in Ngo, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, after a committee presented a report recommending passage of a bill creating the specialized institution.
The proposed legislation would amend the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act, Cap A12, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, to establish the legal framework for the college. Chairman of the House Committee on Ocean and Fisheries, Hon. Akarachi Etinosa Amadi, presented the report, describing the bill as a measure to strengthen Nigeria’s blue economy through specialized education and technical training in fisheries technology, aquaculture, and marine engineering.
Amadi recalled that the House concluded debate on the bill’s general principles on May 7, 2025, before referring it to the committee for further legislative action.
According to Amadi, the proposed institution is designed to address a shortage of skilled manpower in Nigeria’s maritime and fisheries sectors while expanding access to technical and vocational education across the coastal communities of the Niger Delta. “The primary objective of the bill is to provide a statutory framework for the creation of a specialised tertiary institution focused on bolstering Nigeria’s blue economy,” he said, adding that embedding technical training in a coastal riverine community would help stimulate economic development across the region.
The committee conducted a public hearing on the bill on July 14, 2025, where maritime experts, education stakeholders, and representatives from the region unanimously endorsed the proposal and recommended its passage, Amadi disclosed.
The bill contains three clauses, with its substantive provision seeking to insert the proposed college into the Third Schedule of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act. Amadi explained that this insertion would grant the institution statutory recognition, allowing it to access federal funding streams and operate as a recognized federal specialized institution. “The legal effect of inserting the institution into the Third Schedule provides the vital legal backing and statutory recognition needed for the college to become fully operational,” he said.
Read Also: Anambra Bans Erection Of Unauthorised Speed Bumps Statewide
Following its review, the committee retained all clauses of the bill without amendment and recommended that the House pass it as presented. Amadi thanked House leadership for the opportunity to lead the assignment and urged lawmakers to adopt the committee’s recommendations.
The proposed college would join a small cluster of federal specialized fisheries and maritime training institutions in Nigeria, including the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology in Lagos and the Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology in Baga, Borno State, both of which currently anchor the country’s formal technical training pipeline for the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Nigeria’s broader push to develop its blue economy gained institutional weight in 2023 with the creation of a dedicated Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, tasked with coordinating policy across shipping, fisheries, aquaculture, and coastal resource management, sectors that had previously been split across multiple ministries with limited coordination.
Andoni Local Government Area, where the college would be sited, sits along Rivers State’s Atlantic coastline and is home to a substantial artisanal fishing population, making it a logical location for a fisheries-focused technical institution relative to the Niger Delta’s broader network of riverine and coastal communities that depend on fishing and related trades for livelihoods. The Niger Delta region has historically lagged behind other parts of Nigeria in access to specialized technical and vocational education, despite its coastal and riverine geography being naturally suited to fisheries, aquaculture, and marine engineering training.
Read Also: Ogun Police Nab 16 For Bunkering, Defilement, Vandalism Row
Legislative bills of this kind, once passed by the House, still require concurrence from the Senate and presidential assent before taking effect as law, meaning Thursday’s committee report marks a procedural milestone rather than the bill’s final passage. The amendment route chosen, inserting the new institution into the Third Schedule of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act rather than creating standalone enabling legislation, mirrors the approach used to establish several other federal specialized colleges in the past, a mechanism that ties new institutions to funding and oversight structures already in place under the existing Act rather than building an entirely new regulatory framework.
No timeline was given for when the full House would vote on the bill following the committee’s recommendation, nor did Amadi’s presentation specify an expected takeoff date, projected student capacity, or estimated cost for establishing the college once the legislation is passed.
