October 08, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), on Saturday, said it has received Ministerial approval for an assessment visit to the Philippines, to ascertain, first-hand, the issues of its NSDP 2013 cadets.
The Agency said its 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
The cadets under the National Seafarers Development Program (NSDP) on Thursday, led a protest at the Nigerian Embassy, in Manila, Philippines.
The NSDP Program is an intervention program by NIMASA to train and ensure the supply of qualified seafarers from Nigeria
According to them, they are supposed to complete the course within four years, but it is now running to 10 years, as there have been several delays and arbitrary extensions of some of their examinations.
The protest came barely two months after the Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, approved an additional $2,000 dollars for each cadet, as extra funds due to inflation.
NIMASA announced in August 2022 that it is currently reviewing the cost of direct sponsorship of the cadets.
The Agency’s Director General, Dr Bashir Jamoh, had said the review of ongoing sponsorship cost became necessary due to the global inflationary trends which is very pronounced in the Philippines, India and some other countries where the cadets are undergoing Certificate of Competency (CoC) Examination training under the NSDP programme.
Reacting to Thursday’s protest, NIMASA in a statement issued Saturday, said it has received Ministerial approval for an assessment visit this October to ascertain, first-hand, the issues to fully and finally address them.
The Agency said its 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
The statement read: “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.”
Earlier, the Nigerian Embassy in Manila, Philippines, had Condemned what it described as the “unruly behaviour” of the protesting Cadets.
According to the Embassy, the cadets who were trying to make their grievances and demands known failed to conduct themselves properly and acted in total disrespect to the country.
“The Embassy of Nigeria, Manila wishes to refer to allegations against the Embassy making the rounds through videos on social media posted by some disgruntled NIMASA cadets on the 5th of October, 2022, where they accused the Embassy of refusing them access to the building to protest their grievances against NIMASA.
“The Embassy wishes to inform you that the said cadets did not have any scheduled appointment with the Embassy on the said date which is defiant to the rules of Estate management in the Philippines.
“As such, the Estate/ Barangay reserves the right to prohibit persons from entering the premises without an appointment.
“Secondly, the cadets did not submit any formal notification of protest to the Philippine Authorities before they embarked on the protest.
“This explains why there were a lot of policemen present at the scene where the unruly cadets were disturbing the peace of the residents in the area and obstructing vehicular traffic.
“It is pertinent to mention that the officials of the Embassy went to meet with the defiant cadets at the entrance of the estate to listen to their complaints which were delivered in a very insulting and demeaning manner with no regard for the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on whose sponsorship they were in the Philippines in the first place.
“Kindly note that all complaints from the cadets have since been communicated to the relevant authorities in NIMASA and the Embassy awaits further directives in that regard.”
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