Kunle Kalejate
Leeds, England — The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, has debunked media reports claiming that the agency plans to withdraw the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme, NSDP, cadets from the Centurion University, India.
He rather restated the agency’s commitment to the NSDP, noting that the 296 NSDP beneficiaries at Centurion University, India will be given adequate capacity development to acquire quality training and qualify as seafarers employable globally.
The director general said the agency was “not recalling any NSDP beneficiary from Centurion University, stressing: “We are only working to close out all identified gaps in the existing Memorandum of Understanding before proceeding to the next stage. A situation where the Agency entered into a contractual agreement with Springdale Academy of Maritime Education and Training, SAMET with agreed courses and timelines only to be faced with additional course duration and an alien programme by the agent, SAMET, unilaterally converting the programme without the consent of the Agency as prescribed by the MoU may not be in the best interest of the students.”
He further said: “There were issues of non-accreditation of one of institution as at the time of the execution of MoU, change of course from Marine engineering to Mechanical engineering without recourse to the Agency, preparing the grounds for additional years of studies and uncertainties for the students, raising issues related to funding, and the various third parties arrangements without duly informing the Agency.
Mobereola noted that NIMASA was aware of a sponsored media campaign of calumny against its management and stated that this would not deter NIMASA from doing the right thing.
“We are aware of orchestrated media campaigns and petitions against the Agency reviewing the existing arrangement. We will not give in to blackmail as the safety and wellbeing of our students are paramount,” he stated.
The Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme was introduced in 2009 to develop capacity by training young Nigerians as seafarers and bridge the gap of dearth of seafarers globally. Nigerian youths are trained in specialized courses such as Marine Engineering, Nautical Sciences and Nautical Surveys amongst others, to ensure they qualify as Seafarers and are employable globally
