Bowen, UNILAG, EKSU win maritime competition

Students of Bowen University, Iwo in Ondo state, University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Ekiti State University (EKSU), have emerged winners of the Maritime Blueprint Competition, which law students from six institutions participated.
The competition, sponsored by SIFAX Group, is one of the activities of the Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime Conference, which is in its third edition, held in collaborations with the Maritime Forum of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.
At the end of the keenly-contested competition, which used a debate format, Bowen University, represented by Adekeye Olanrewaju and Dunmade Samuel, emerged the overall winners with 85 points, while University of Lagos, represented by Pius Bankong and Ipinnuoluwa Ade-Ademi, came second with 81 points and Ekiti State University, represented by Durola Ayobami Tosin and Oyewole Sunday, came third with 78 points.
University of Benin, University of Ilorin and Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe, made the sixth institutions that took part in the competition.
The first round of the debate was on “Merits and Demerits of Foreign Direct Investments in the Maritime Sector, while the final round of the debate was on the topic “Port Costs & Port Charges: A Recurring Decimal Under Port Reform Regime.” Speaking on the competition, Dr.
Taiwo Afolabi, Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, said the need to deepen the knowledge base of the law students and to stimulate their interest in the country’s maritime industry were responsible for the company’s sponsorship of the competition.
“We don’t have enough maritime legal experts in the industry as I speak to you.
Very few students also show interests in the legal aspect of the sector.
Having identified this, the company decided to take up the sponsorship of the competition.
Prizes including laptops, smart phones and cash were given to the winners.