The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has averred that human capacity development initiative is a panacea to the growing unemployment rate in the economy.
Peterside who said this at the 1st Annual Lecture of Swaaya Limited, Publishers of Freedom Online news with the theme: “Unemployment: How do we tame this monster?” which held at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos disclosed that to stem this tide, the Agency through its Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) has trained over 2,500 Nigerian students in various maritime related courses in reputable maritime institutions outside the country.
Speaking further, the DG disclosed that the capacity development initiatives embarked upon by the Agency were geared towards taming the foreseen lacuna in the seafaring profession in the nearest future which is a global challenge.
Represented by the Agency’s Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Gambo Ahmed, he also hinted that the NSDP scheme, which had already started producing graduates would soon take a new look where Nigeria would also be a large exporter of seafarers like India and the Philippines who generate millions of dollars from the pool of its seafarers in the globally market.
While assuring Nigerians of the unflinching commitment of the current Management of NIMASA to ensure a virile maritime sector, through its capacity building initiatives, he called on them to support the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led administration’s zero tolerance for corruption, to enable government and its Agencies to achieve their set objectives particularly in the area of curbing unemployment.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on all Nigerians, regardless of race, religion or political interest or affiliations to support the Federal Government in its quest to defeat corruption, which has eaten deep into the fortunes of the economy, so that we can together make our country great again. And I assure you all, that very soon; unemployment issues will soon be a thing of the past”, Dr. Peterside said.
It may be recalled that the Director General, recently gave the assurance that the Agency has made adequate provision in its 2017 budget for sea time training for the beneficiaries of the NSDP scheme, which will in turn qualify them to practice their trade anywhere in the world.
Present at the event were the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Idiat Aderanti Adebule, Deputy Governor of Abia State, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu Former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Leader of the People’s Democratic Party in the South West, Chief Olabode George and Factional Leader of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) Otunba Gani Adams amongst other dignitaries.
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