This is as President Muhammadu Buhari has approved an increase of the take-off grant from N2b earlier announced to N5b.
The Maritime University, located at Okerenkoko, Delta State, has now commenced full academic activities.
The grant has already been included in the 2018 budget presented to the National Assembly earlier this week, under the Federal Ministry of Education allocation.
The Minister of Niger Delta, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani made this known over the weekend in a press statement he made available to journalists.
According to the statement, the presidential approval for the N5B budget allocation was based on the recommendation of a committee in the Ministry of Education tasked with the activation of the university.
It added that President Muhammadu Buhari has also approved an immediate release of N1b to the university to support essential infrastructure works and staff recruitment, noting that the release was separate from the N5B allocated in the 2018 budget submitted to the National Assembly.
“Recently, the Maritime University authorities have commenced the process of hiring staff with advert placements published in the Punch, Vanguard, and Sun newspapers, blogs and other online outlets.
“In the published academic staff vacancies, the Maritime University is now hiring professors, readers, senior lecturers, lecturers, assistant lecturers and graduate assistants to teach in the faculties of Science, Maritime Transportation, Maritime Engineering & Technology, Maritime Environmental Management and General Studies.
“It would be recalled that under the New Vision for the Niger Delta, which followed the President’s meeting with PANDEF leaders last November, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, was delegated to undertake a tour of the oil producing communities and the issue of the take-off of the Maritime University was one of the major requests tabled before the Federal Government”, the statement read in part.