Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has expressed regret at the recent protest in Manila, the Philippines by over 100 cadets of the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), assuring that it had the situation under control.
In a statement on Saturday issued by the management, NIMASA said that its Executive Director in charge of Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Engr. Victor Ochei would lead a fact-finding mission to the Philippines to engage with the school and the cadets.
NSDP is NIMASA’s intervention initiative to address the dearth of trained and certified seafarers in the Nigerian maritime industry.
The NIMASA statement reads: “We wish to let the public know that we are monitoring the unfortunate development in the Philippines involving NIMASA NSDP 2013 cadets, as seen in a recent online video. And to assure Nigerians that NIMASA has received Ministerial approval for an assessment visit this October to ascertain, first-hand, the issues to fully and finally address them.
“Our Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Engr. Victor Ochei, will lead the fact-finding mission to the Philippines to engage with the school and the cadets. As responsible management, we must deal with this from an informed position, as the matter far predates this administration.
“While we regret the embarrassment this may have caused all concerned; we urge caution and avoidance of any speculative reporting until the official outcome of the on-the-spot evaluation to the Philippines is submitted.
“While we regret the embarrassment this may have caused all concerned; we urge caution and avoidance of any speculative reporting until the official outcome of the on-the-spot evaluation to the Philippines is submitted”.
On Thursday, the Nigerian Embassy in Manila criticised the NSDP (Batch 2) cadets for “displaying total disregard for the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on whose sponsorship they were in the Philippines to study”.
The recent protest is coming barely two months after NIMASA Director General, Dr Bashir Jamoh approved an US$2,000 for each cadet as extra fund due to inflation.
In a statement on Thursday, the Nigerian embassy stated that the cadets failed to conduct themselves properly, and acted in total disrespect to the country.
