From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The National Seafarers Development Programme’s (NSDP) teeming cadets cannot be employed, according to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), because no local fleets are available to take them on.
This is even as it said that a total of 2,041 cadets have graduated since 2009, adding that while 120 of those admitted withdrew from the programme, 10 of them died in training.
According to him, 800 of the graduating cadets have secured placements in various maritime establishments globally.
The Director-General of NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh, made these disclosures while fielding questions from Correspondents at the 53rd Session of the State House Briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
The DG/CEO of NIMASA at the briefing provided key updates on the activities of his Agency.
He added that the non-disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund has made it difficult for indigenous players to enter into the shipping business meant to absorb the NSDP cadets.
Since 2007, successive Ministers of Transportation and heads of NIMASA have promised to disburse the CVFF to empower indigenous ship owners to acquire vessels but the promises have remained unfulfilled.
Recall the NIMASA Chief had recently vowed to the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, that the “jinx” surrounding the non-disbursement of the CVFF, would be broken.
“If there is a jinx about the CVFF, I am going to break it by getting it disbursed to deserving Nigerians.
“If these funds are disbursed, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and the Federal Ministry of Transportation will take credit, while it remains a legacy in your administration,” the minister had said.