The Director-General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), Rt. Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, has tasked 16 volunteers deployed to Rwanda and the Republic of Benin to represent Nigeria as technical diplomats during their 2-year stay in their respective countries.
The Volunteers, who were deployed under the TAC scheme, are expected to contribute their expertise and skills to the development of the host countries, while also promoting Nigeria’s interests and values.
In his address to the Volunteers, Rt. Hon. Buba charged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria, and tasked them to change the narratives about Nigeria, by serving and filling the gaps in the sister nations.
The former Federal lawmaker emphasized that the Volunteers’ deployment is a demonstration of Nigeria’s commitment to sharing its abundant human resources with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and its desire to share its expertise and knowledge with other developing countries in the promotion of the ideals of South-South Cooperation.
The 16 Volunteers, who were selected from various fields, including Engineering, Academics and the Sciences, are mostly currently working in various institutions across the country and are expected to spend two years in their host countries before returning to their jobs in Nigeria. Having undergone various rigorous orientation exercises to prepare them for their assignment, they are ready for the assignment ahead of them.
The NTAC DG revealed that some of the Volunteers would serve in some of the social infrastructure, like schools and hospitals, set up by the Nigerian Government in some countries of Africa.
Earlier, while presenting the Volunteers to the NTAC DG, the Director of Programmes at the Agency, Amb. Zakari Usman, commended the Volunteers for living up to expectations, while enjoining them to follow in the footsteps of those that participated in the TAC Scheme before them.
Also speaking as Team Lead of the new batch of Volunteers, Engr. Prof. Jafaru Usman of the University of Maiduguri, said he was happy to join his colleagues to participate in the programme. While pledging not to renege on the trust the Federal Government has placed on their shoulders, he urged the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps to continue on the noble path the Agency has toed these past years. The same sentiments were re-echoed by Dr. Angela Akanwa, a Senior Lecturer from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, who is equally participating in the programme.
Among those present at the occasion were Amb.Yakubu Abdullahi Ahmed, Director of Administration, NTAC; the Special Assistant to the DG on Protocol Matters, Mr.Lawandy Bala and Mr. Abdulkadir Iliyasu, Special Assistant to the DG on Legal Matters.
The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps is an Agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria responsible for providing technical assistance to other developing countries. Since its establishment in 1987, the TAC has deployed over ten thousand Volunteers to various countries and Multilateral institutions around the world.
Signed
Ojo A. Olubunmi
Head Information and Public Relations
