There is no plan to withdraw 296 National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) beneficiaries presently studying at Centurion University, India, the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola has said.
Mobereola’s assertion is coming on the heels of speculations in some quarters that the agency is at the verge of withdrawing the beneficiaries following allegations of distortion in the original plans of the beneficiaries and other sharp practices in the school.
While reiterating NIMASA commitment to human capacity development through quality training for NSDP beneficiaries, he noted 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.
NIMASA in a statement signed by its Assistant Director, Public Relations, Mr. Edward Osagie quoted Mobereola describing media reports claiming that the agency plans to withdraw the NSDP cadets from the Centurion University, India as false.
According to the statement which was made available to Maritime Bits, NIMASA is only carrying out due diligence on the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to align the processes in the best interest of the Nigerian students.
Continuing, he said: “We are not recalling any NSDP beneficiary from Centurion University. 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.
“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”.
The NIMASA helmsman noted that the management of the agency is aware of a sponsored media campaign of calumny against NIMASA management stating that it will 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 added.
Maritime Bits had reported that NSDP was introduced in 2009 during the administration of Dr. Ade Dosumu as the Director General of NIMASA.
It is meant 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.
