Protocols
The Director of Administration, Amb.Yakubu Abdullahi Ahmed;
The Director of Programmes, Amb.Zakari Usman,fdc;
Deputy Directors, Administration and Accounts;
Assistant Directors, Internal Audits and Programmes;
My Special Assistants on Media, Protocol and Legal Matters;
Other Foreign Service Officers and Heads of Units;
Gentlemen of the Press;
Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen;
- I feel, indeed, elated to appear before you this morning to share with you, members of the Diplomatic Correspondents, what has defined my humble stewardship here at the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) in the last two years, following my appointment and assumption of office on Monday, August 28,2023.
- Let me, therefore, commence this process by conveying my utmost respect, loyalty and gratitude to His Excellency, Mr. President and Father of the Nation, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on whose magnanimity I have been privileged to ascend my current high position to offer to our dear nation my humble quota of national service.
- Indeed, I consider myself privileged for the opportunity offered to me by our dear President and Leader to showcase my love for my nation and the sheer ability and capacity I modestly possess to deliver on any projects entrusted to my care. There is no mincing words that without the trust and confidence reposed in us by this President none of us would have had the opportunity to be here. This reality is even more so when you consider the sheer number of our citizens and the great capabilities, capacity and qualifications this great population possesses. So, indeed, everyone appointed to take a position of responsibility in this nation must consider such an appointment a real privilege to be so appointed out of the many who are even better qualified for every job in the land.
- Now, the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps was founded in 1987 by the regime of Military President Ibrahim Babangida as a flagship Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to share our abundant technical skills, knowledge and capacities with our brothers in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions. Of course, you recall that, before 1987 many Nigerian leaders, starting from Tafawa Balewa, had had cause to “assist” African countries, and such countries with enormous black populations across the Caribbean and the Pacific Regions who were at one time or another suffering one kind of challenges or another. Nigeria was always there to help in cash or kind.
- I am sure that some of us here are old enough to recall the involvement ,in fact, the leadership of Nigeria in peace-keeping efforts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and other ones across the world. Again, some of us, the other ones here will even recall that as students in school we were made to contribute various stipends to address the case of apartheid in South Africa, which had foisted untold hardship on the black populations in that country. Our nation offered such a helping hand in Angola, in Namibia, Mozambique and in other places outside Africa, as I said earlier. It was in the bid to aggregate all of these kinds of efforts under one government Agency that Gen. Babangida, with Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi as Minister established NTAC with that mandate of systematically offering technical assistance to the world through the direct participation of our own citizens.
- Of course, we do not possess the liberty of time here to list out the benefits of this change in the foreign assistance policy of the Babangida era, but it suffices to quickly add here that the current Nigeria’s technical aid policy that has been midwifed by NTAC in the last 38 years remains one of the longest and most impactful forms of South-South Co-operation across the world, which has been hailed by the United Nations and other global development co-operation agencies as a Scheme worth studying and copying for posterity to sustain.
- Following the announcement of my appointment on August 22,2023,I fully took over the Affairs of NTAC on the 28th of the same month; and as His Excellency, Mr. President had directed ,we hit the ground running immediately we took over. What I am, therefore, about to list here are the things that have defined our time and characterised our focus here since that date.
- Some of these modest achievements, we have decided to characterise under some 10 broad strategic areas in order to aid our quick understanding of the delivery, especially since most parts of our engagements in foreign policy goals and services may not be seen as the kind of tangible, material achievements like laying blocks over blocks or building roads and bridges. Yet, the impacts of these actions are no less important in national progress, security and development than the physical aspects of development to which we earlier referred. This is why foreign service is a special kind of service: There is so much that is happening that you may not physically see, yet the impacts are strong and exerting!
- Ten Strategic Pillars of Our Impacts and Achievements in the Last Two Years
In furtherance of the foreign policy components of the Renewed Hope Agenda of H.E., President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) undertook various activities and programmes that were all aimed at either consolidating what was already begun earlier in the preceding years or initiating new ones.
This report is, therefore, an attempt to capture in a nutshell some of the highlights of those activities and programmes that have preoccupied the DG’s time and that of the entire workforce at the Agency in these two years under review.
These strategic pillars and areas of interventions include, but are not limited to the below:
i. Bilateral Visits and Engagements;
ii. Processing and Preparation of the Deployment of Volunteers and their Return/Debriefing;
iii. Deployment of Volunteers;
iv. Opening up and widening the scope, influence and reach of the TAC Scheme;
v. Engaging with Other MDAs of Government in pursuit of inter-Agency Collaboration and Synergy;
vi. Media Engagements and Public Relations Activities in the dissemination of the TAC Mandate, its Operations and Benefits to the nation;
vii. Stakeholders’ Collaboration and Engagement;
viii. Public Sector Accountability and Transparency Initiatives;
ix. Provision of Information ,Education and Communication (IEC) Materials like T-shirts, Fez Caps, Bags and Others for the afore-mentioned;
x. Publications for the Preservation of the Institutional Memory of the Agency and for the availability of more information on the mandate and activities of the Agency to its various Audiences at Home and Abroad;
xi. Promotion and standardization of the workplace, staff welfare and environment, among others, all which are geared towards amplifying voices of performance and supporting the vision of the President Tinubu Administration under the kind guidance of our parent Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its leadership.
- Projects, Activities and Programmes
Under these ten strategic pillars are these broad achievements in no particular order:
i. On my first working day in office, being Monday, August 28, 2023, I played host to the Honourable Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology of The Gambia, Prof. Perez Gomez. Prof. Gomez and I shared insights on development cooperation between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and The Gambia and dwelt principally on the deployment of Volunteers to fill the skill gaps that existed in his country in the areas of Engineering, Law, Medical Professionals and others.
ii. On September 5, 2025, I received in audience members of the Northeast Caucus of the National Executive Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Comrade (Dr.) Salihu Mustapha, the National Vice Chairman of the Party in the Geopolitical Region. This visit was part of many such visits, consultations and engagements with various relevant stakeholders that could facilitate the achievement of the NTAC mandate and objectives. Within the period, I also received several serving and past lawmakers some of whom had served in the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the 9th House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, which I chaired. All of these lawmakers and distinguished Nigerians had not only come to hail my appointment as DG, NTAC, but to share useful tips with me on how to make a success of my new role.
iii. On September 15, 2023, the Agency, in line with its core mandate, deployed 23 Volunteers to the Republic of Liberia. This was pursuant to the implementation of one of Nigerian Government’s Foreign Policy instruments of using soft power to attract friendship from the different regions of the world, particularly in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. During the deployment, I charged the Volunteers to be good ambassadors of Nigeria by demonstrating excellence in their fields of endeavour and by upholding respect for the laws of the host country.
iv. On September 20, 2023, following what was almost a month-long interaction between NTAC and the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, two Senior Justices, Their Lordships Justice Ruqayat Ayoola Oremi and Justice Mohammed Lekan Owolabi were deployed to The Gambia in the bid to strengthen the legal and justice delivery systems in that country.
v. On September 22, 2023, through the financial assistance of my personal friends and the use of personal finances I commenced rehabilitation exercises at the NTAC building and its premises. I made it clear to the Management of the Agency that the rehabilitation efforts were intended to minimally revamp the old and moribund infrastructure that we met on ground at my appointment and that the initiative was being sponsored by my friends to support my quest to deliver on my new job. The minor rehabilitation efforts were concluded in a good time.
vi. On the 25th of September 2023, we also constituted a Committee on the Repositioning of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps Scheme for Greater Relevance in the Affairs of the Country. The 11-man Committee, which comprised Professors of International Affairs and Diplomacy, retired Ambassadors, Lawyers, Paramilitary Professionals, Security Experts as well as Economists was chaired by Prof. David Zoaka of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Abuja, and was saddled with finding the best ways for the NTAC to maintain its core mandate in the contemporary global community, using my 3-R Agenda, which is anchored on Repositioning, Re-energising and Re-engineering the Agency for broader relevance in the affairs of the country. The Committee was inaugurated by the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar. During the inauguration, the Hon. Minister charged the Committee members to develop new ideas and insights that could even make NTAC to start to earn revenue for Government through the deployment of requisite skilled professionals in some countries where they are highly needed in such areas as Oil and Gas etc.
vii. On September 29, 2023,the Agency again deployed 10 Volunteers to Uganda, following further requests for academic hands to strengthen education and research in her institutions in that country.
viii. On September 30, 2023,I undertook a tour of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where I met with the Hon. Minister, the Permanent Secretary and the rest members of the Management of the Ministry. I took first-hand information of the working of the Ministry and familiarized myself with all actors in the entire administrative structure and its bureaucracy.
ix. Deployment of 13 Volunteers to Zanzibar as part of the bid to share our expertise in teaching with the people of the United Government of Tanzania of which Zanzibar is a part.
x. In October 2023, I equally commenced the retooling and repair of hitherto unserviceable vehicles, machines and refurbishment of generators and diverse pieces of machinery in NTAC. Noticing the paucity of funds and the Tinubu Administration’s penchant for accountability in public office, I had decided that it was better to repair what we had, since it was not easy to procure new ones.
xi. Since I personally consider leadership a continuum, in the last week of October 2023, I began the clearing of the backlog of payments for tickets inherited from my predecessor. We also settled some outstanding payments to former Volunteers and unpaid entitlements to some serving ones.
xii. On November 6, 2023, alongside some of the members of NTAC Management, I undertook a 6-country tour of the recipient countries of the TAC Scheme in East Africa. During the tour, I met personally with Embassy staff, the Volunteers and other stakeholders of the TAC Scheme. I was also able to measure the impacts of the TAC Scheme in the region and had a first-hand opportunity to feel the gaps in the Scheme and to undertake how to solve such challenges associated with the Scheme.
xiii. On November 23, the Corps received Volunteers from Sierra Leone and for the first time in a very long while at the Corps, we planned the traditional debriefing exercise for the Volunteers on the 26th of November 2023. It is on record that, in spite of the fact that the batch of Volunteers was outstanding, it, however, lost one of its most outstanding members, who had been chosen as not only a person physician to the country’s President but was also chosen to coordinate the national programme of response to the COVID 19 pandemic.
xiv. In November, I also led the Management of the Corps to inspect and retain the services of partner hotels and other care services to solve the perennial problem of quartering Volunteers and our other guests, a problem that had in the past caused embarrassment to the Corps. By our arrangements, we are now able to quarter Volunteers in our partner facilities without pay until we are able to receive the funds to fulfill such obligations.
xv. Within the month of November, I also led the Management of the Corps for strategic visits to various stakeholders of the TAC Scheme and to some sister organizations, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Ministry of Education, the DG, NiDCOM and several others, all geared towards the bid to make for better delivery of our mandate.
xvi. On December 6, 2023, the Corps received the return after the Tour of Duty of 13 Medical Doctors who had concluded their service in Guinea Bissau. That particular batch of Volunteers was on record one of the most applauded batches to serve in the TAC Scheme. So much appreciation was conveyed by the people of Guinea Bissau.
xvii. On that December 6, 2023, I also accepted the honour of the World Institute of Peace and was, consequently, alongside the Emir of Zazzau and other distinguished Nigerians in other fields of endeavour, was decorated at the Army Resource Centre Asokoro. This recognition, the organizers said, was in recognition of my many efforts in the service of humanity and our country, Nigeria.
xviii. In the same week of December 2023, I also joined the Ministry to present the annual budgetary estimates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the National Assembly. As a former Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, my inputs and interventions during the budget preparation received commendations from the Ministry’s stakeholders.
xix. During the week under review in December of that year, alongside the Management of NTAC,I also led the NTAC delegation on an exhibition of the 4-D Foreign Policy Initiatives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. The exhibition was basically organized to showcase the initiative to members of the Diplomatic Corps in Nigeria and to provide diverse stakeholders the opportunity for interaction.
xx. On December 8,2023, I participated and presented a Paper at the 2nd Edition of the Annual Conference of the Legislative Mentorship Initiative (2023). During the programme, I took time to expose the participants drawn from across the country to the working of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps and its relevance to our nation’s Foreign Policy Goals.
xxi. During the period I was also presented with the Professional Doctorate Degree of the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria,(ICEN) and was so decorated alongside other distinguished Nigerians in an elaborate ceremony in Abuja.
xxii. xxii. Within the month, the training on ICT, deployment of AI in the Media and official businesses, which was begun for the Media and ICT Units of the Agency, in addition to the NYSC members serving at the Agency, was wrapped up with certificate presentation. The training was organized not only to empower the staff of the two Units at the Agency, but to offer some sort of useful skills to the NYSC members who would soon enter the labour market after the one-year mandatory national service.
xxiii. With officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), a member of the NTAC staff, Mr. Nasril Al- Hassan was inaugurated as a member of the Anti-corruption and Transparency Unit ,ACTU-NTAC. The occasion provided me an opportunity to highlight Mr. President’s emphasis on zero-corruption and the call on the staff of our Agency to live above board.
xxiv. Within the later days of December 2023, I led combined efforts to re-establish partnership and strengthen existing partnerships with Multilateral and Triangular organisations like the UNDP, FARA in Ghana, Islamic Development Bank, TOSSD, CIFCFIN and others. All the efforts were aimed at furthering the delivery of the TAC mandate at different levels and among non-State Actors.
xxv. More staff training exercises were also organized for different Departments and Units of NTAC. All of these were intended to expose the staff to standardized global best practices in their areas of expertise. Staff of the Protocol Units were, indeed, expressive of their desire for such continuous training initiatives.
xxvi. As part of my efforts to improve on what I met as online presence of our Agency, I approved the delivery of newly deployed/installed Internet infrastructure and Website. This was also followed by the procurement of new laptops, desktops and such gadgets. The need for online presence and an engaging multimedia presence on the Internet cannot be overemphasized.
xxvii. In order to retool the entire structure of the NTAC office for smart operations and adequate security, I also procured and installed intercom services, security cameras and movement-dictating lights around the NTAC premises.
xxviii. Within the last days of December 2023, the in-house publication of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, Dateline NTAC, was born. The Magazine was initiated to capture on a quarterly basis the activities and programmes of the Agency.
xxix. In the winding-down week of 2023, I received the sad news of one of our staff that was reportedly kidnapped by taxi men. The lifeless body of Ms Abibetu Ali, daughter to a retired Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was later found in a part of Abuja. I had promptly mobilized the NTAC staff to attend all the rites of passage for the deceased officer and provided reasonable assistance for the family to aid those rites.
xxx. On the 28th of December 2023, I undertook a journey to Ghana to take part in a meeting that was scheduled for January 4th of the next year. I was joined at the meeting by the then Director of Programmes at NTAC, Amb. Mohammed Mohammed and two other Foreign Service Officers.
xxxi. The Corps on the 28th of December 2023 commenced the call for participation in the 2024-2026 biennial recruitment of Volunteers at the Corps. Advertisement was placed in a number of National Newspapers.
- Highlights of the Year 2024
i. Having successfully ended the Year 2023 at the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, the New Year began with the meeting with FARA in Ghana. With our host, we had very useful discussions and insights on the vision and the emerging cooperation of our both institutions and agreed to further discussions on the issue of this cooperation.
ii. The Corps received over ten thousand (10,000) applications from prospective Volunteers, which awaited sorting, interviewing and selection of qualified Volunteers in the Corps bid to deploy generously in the first quarter of the year.
iii. The Agency deployed a Volunteer to Uganda on the 19th of January and also welcomed four others who had completed their services, one from Sierra Leone and three from Guinea Bissau.
iv. The Corps received the High Commissioner of Jamaica to Nigeria, H. E. Lincoln Downer, where discussions on our ongoing relations with their country were highlighted.
v. The Corps also welcomed 10 Volunteers who had completed their services. Seven were from The Gambia, 1 from Sierra Leone and 2 from Guinea Bissau. Debriefing was carried out for the returnee-Volunteers.
vi. Despite forwarding Schedule to the CBN on January 12, there was delay in paying the January offshore allowance to Volunteers.
vii. With no Volunteers currently serving in the Pacific Region the Corps reached out to Fiji Island, Solomon Islands, Samoa and Papua New Guinea are currently waiting for request for Volunteers.
viii. In the month, the Corps reached to the High Commissions of Tanzania, Rwanda, Jamaica and the Embassy of Chad to further ongoing discussions.
ix. A meeting was also scheduled for me to meet with the DG, West African Health Organization (WAHO) in Ouagadougou, Cote’d Ivoire.
x. The DG and some members of NTAC Management visited The Gambia where they engaged with high level government officials, including the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology; the Minister of Youth and Sports; Head of National Youth Scheme as well as Chancellors of Universities and the Chief Justice of The Gambia.
xi. Preparations and certificate screening for deployment of health professionals to Sierra Leone and 2 Psychiatric Nurses to Seychelles were concluded at this time.
xii. The Corps received 18 returning Volunteers from Uganda in the month of March. Debriefing took place accordingly.
xiii. In the bid to replace returned Volunteers from Guinea Bissau officials of the Agency were sent to interface with Guinean authorities to deploy 35 medical professionals to that country.
xiv. Efforts were stepped up through our High Commissions to revitalize moribund Agreements in parts of the Caribbean like Dominican Republic, Belize, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Pacific countries, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu.
xv. Capacity building training was organized for the Protocol Officers and staff of the Agency to enhance necessary skills and professionalism.
xvi. I received Amb. Jamal Mohammed Barrow, Somalian Ambassador to Nigeria in April 2024. He made a case for his country’s desperate need of professionals to help rebuild Somalia.
xvii. Following new presidential policy statements on overseas travels, I applied and got waivers in April 2024 for such travels earmarked for bilateral meetings and development co-operation.
xviii. A list of 20 medical professionals was sent to Guinea in response to their request of 53 Volunteers who were to replace those that had earlier completed the 24-month service.
xix. The Corps also received 26 Volunteers from Guinea Bissau. These were part of a 47-member batch sent in the 2022-2024 biennial recruitment.
xx. A list of 11 Volunteers was also cleared for the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) to replace the 18 who had earlier completed their tour of duty in December 2023.
xxi. 14 Volunteers were in April offered employment by various Universities in Uganda after they had completed their 2-year voluntary service.
xxii. A list of 11 lecturers in Civil, Mechanical Electrical and Agricultural Engineering was forwarded to the newly established University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET),The Gambia. A list of teachers also got approval to each various subjects, including Maths, Statistics and Islamic Studies at Nigeria. International School, Cotonou, Republic of Benin.
xxiii. I had very comprehensive telephone interface with the Minister of State for Education of Rwanda during which time we upped our arrangements for the deployment of Volunteers.
xxiv. During this period, the Corps had the opportunity to authentic all results submitted by prospective Volunteers to Jamaica.
xxv. Two Psychiatric Nurses interviewed and cleared for deployment by Seychellois authorities successfully had their results verified by the Nursing Council, Abuja.
xxvi. NTAC, in collaboration with officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conducted staff audit. It is noteworthy to state here that all members of the staff turned out for the exercise and no ghost worker was detected.
xxvii. The ICPC organized a 2-day sensitization workshop at NTAC. I had an opportunity to address the event on the closing day.
xxviii. To assess the level of preparedness of host countries prior to deployment, we sent out officers to selected African countries.
xxix. 11 Volunteers were deployed in May 2024 to Uganda following diverse preparatory exercises.
xxx. Accompanied by the Director of Programmes and two others in May, I undertook a bilateral visit to Jamaica, Commonwealth of Dominica and had virtual interfaces with Guyana and other parts of the Caribbean, where we met with top Government officials, including Ministers in different areas and had very productive results. Poor flight connectivity had sabotaged our intended visits to other parts, including Barbados and others.
xxxi. I gave my nod on the nomination of Mrs Onojo Charity Ejembi, an FSO, as the contact person for NTAC at the ICPC. All matters relating to ICPC’s Ethics and Integrity Scorecards were addressed perfunctorily.
xxxii. I approved the establishment of a Staff Clinic at NTAC, the Staff Union and a Multipurpose Cooperative Society.
xxxii. Federal Auditors visited and maintained sanctifying poise with officials of the Corps from various Departments and Units.
xxxiii. Efforts were advanced for more visibility of the activities and programmes of NTAC. Consequently, we commenced the upgrading of both our website and Internet infrastructure.
xxxiv. On May 30, 2024, the Corps deployed 11 Engineers to The Gambia’s University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET). To reinforce interest in the TAC Scheme there was also a strong media activity at the High Commission of Nigeria in Kannifing, The Gambia.
xxxv. In June 2024,the Director of Programmes at the Agency, Amb. Zakari Usman was hosted by the Embassy of Niger in Abuja where with the Charge d’ Affaires ad Interim they had useful discussions on the TAC Scheme.
xxxvi. Following conclusion of processes, 11 Volunteers were deployed to Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU). Media awareness was also heavily created in Kampala during this time.
xxxvii. Following continuous engagements with the Jamaican authorities, 8 Nurse-Volunteers were in July brought to Abuja to commence the process of acquiring Official Passports.
xxxviii. In July, the Corps carried out very strong and elaborate mass media campaigns on the TAC Scheme in both electronic and print media, including NTA, AIT, Radio Nigeria and others.
xxxix. On 30th June 2024, the Corps deployed 18 medical professionals to Sierra Leone; on 15th July, 15 Volunteers were deployed to Uganda’s IUIU and Kabale University; and on the 20th,the Corps again deployed 11 TAC Engineers and Lawyers to The Gambia.
xl. 14 returning Volunteers from Uganda and The Gambia were successfully received and debriefed in July 2024.
xli. Following delegation, the Director of Programmes, Amb. Zakari visited the High Commission of Tanzania where he met with the Charge’ d’ Affaires ad Interim, Mrs Judica E. Naguwa and had very useful discussions with her on the TAC Scheme. The same visit was undertaken to the Ambassador /Head of Mission of Chad at the latter’s office in Abuja to initiate contacts for my intended visit to officials of Government in Chad.
xlii. A meeting at NTAC addressed issues like punctuality and general work ethic/orientation. This occasioned the activation of an electric device to monitor punctuality and staff attendance.
xliii. The Corps at this time, July 2024, also successfully coordinated online verification for staff ordered by the Office of Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and, equally, successfully hosted members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs on an oversight function.
xliv. The Corps Co-ordinated an official training on First Aid Technique and officially opened its Staff Clinic.
xlv. On July 9,2024, the DG, alongside other Heads of Agency/ Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined a top management meeting of the Ministry. The DG was also represented at another meeting at the National Assembly Complex by Amb. Ahmed, the Director of Administration.
xlvi. 17 medical professionals were deployed to Guinea Bissau on 29th July 2024.
xlvii. Alongside the Director of Programmes, Amb.Usman, I visited Chad between 29th July and August 1 where we met with Ministers and other high level officials in that country.
xlviii. In early August, I also received Amb. Humphrey Geiseb, the High Commissioner of Namibia to Nigeria. Apart from seeking to understudy the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps and requesting Volunteers, the Envoy sought the resuscitation of the Nigeria/Namibia Joint Commission of Co-operation
Xlxix. The Corps received five (5) returned Volunteers, who had completed their assignment in Uganda. Accordingly, they were debriefed.
L. Alongside some members of NTAC Management we participated at the meeting of the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs with Nordic counterparts on Tuesday, August 13.
Li. I, alongside members of NTAC Management on August 14,2024, was invited by the Hon. Minister MFA to join Mr. President’s State visit to Equatorial Guinea where we met with authorities of the country, including some from the neighbouring country of Gabon.
Lii. I equally received Mrs Peace Paola, Interim Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration in my office. We had very useful discussions on a whole lot of issues upon which we agreed to partner.
Liii. The Corps hosted ICPC officials for their proposed System Study and Review. Almost following the visit of the ICPC was also the visit of the Code of Conduct Bureau officials who sought a date for a sensitization workshop at NTAC.
Liv. In a seeming note of finalization of arrangements for the deployment of Nurse Educators and others to Jamaica a virtual meeting was held between authorities of Jamaica ‘s Ministries of Health and Wellness, Education, Foreign Affairs, the Nursing Council of Jamaica as well as Embassy officials and my team, led by my humble self.
Lv. On the deployment of 400 professionals for regular employment fee, I informed the Jamaican authorities of the need to return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to achieve the buy-in of other stakeholders.
Lvi. To continue discussions on scheduled deployment to Rwanda, the Director of Programmes at NTAC met with the High Commissioner of the country to Nigeria, Amb. Christophe Bazivamo. Plans had been concluded to deploy 10 Volunteers to the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK).
Lvii. The Director of PRS,MFA, visited and we had discussions on the posting of a nurse or two to the newly established Staff Clinic in my office.
Lviii. On September 18,2024, I inaugurated the newly elected members of the Executives of the NTAC Multipurpose Cooperative Society with a charge to the new leadership to live above board and to ensure they meet all criteria needed to benefit from President Tinubu ‘s incentives for the Nigerian workers.
Lix. My team and I had a virtual meeting with officials of Islamic Development Bank. The main focus was on the deployment of Volunteers to the Bank, a discussion earlier begun during the tenure of my predecessor. I promised to study the file and revert.
Lx. On the 26th of September 2024, the Corps received an official letter from The Gambian authorities through the Nigerian High Commission in Banjul informing that four Nigerian Professors posted to USET had been selected to head the University.
Lxi. Arising from the State visit of Mr. President to Equatorial Guinea, an inter- ministerial meeting was scheduled at the MFA headquarters to discuss the proposed Bi- National Commission scheduled with Equatorial Guinea in November of 2024. NTAC was represented at the meeting by the duo of Ambs. Ahmed and Kpasaba.
Lxii. To conform with the requirements of the Public Procurement Act (2007,as amended) an exercise for the opening of technical and financial bids was carried out at NTAC.
Lxiii. I met with Companies that won the recent bids for the remodelling and rehabilitation of the buildings of the Corps. I enjoined them to do their best at the job to meet with the standards of Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Lxiv. On October 17,2024, the main work commenced at the NTAC building.
Lxv. On the 9th October, I visited the Hon. MFA and had extensive discussions with him on the exportation, with dignity, of 400 professional Nurses to Jamaica for paid employment.
Lxvi. On the 31st October 2024, 15 Volunteers (Rwanda 9 and Uganda 6) were deployed. The outstanding Volunteer to Uganda’s Makarere University would travel at a later date.
Lxvii. NTAC Multipurpose Cooperative Society had its debut meeting on 8th October 2024.
Lxviii. To review the nature of their services Management on this day, 11th of October 2024,met with our various service providers.
Lxix. The 2nd Edition of the in-house publication, Dateline NTAC, was released on this day October 18,2024.
Lxx. The first 30 minutes of NTAC ‘s 1 hour documentary was aired on TVC on October 23,2024.
Lxxi. Following the invitation of the Hon. Minister, MFA alongside the Directors of Administration and Programmes, we attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Samoa between October 21 to 26,2024.On the sidelines of the meeting, we engaged in other events with officials of Fiji and Vanuatu etc, discussing the TAC Scheme.
Lxxii. I facilitated an elaborate publicity for the deployment of our Volunteers to Uganda. This was to reignite strong interest in the Scheme in host countries.
Lxxiii. More documentaries were aired on NTA,TVC and on AIT on my one-year-in-office anniversary.
Lxxiv. On November 6,2024, Dr.Nafiu Zadawawas deployed to Uganda as the outstanding Volunteer to Uganda’s Makarere University.
Lxxv. Starting from November 14, 2024, different officers of the Agency were released for the annual monitoring and evaluation exercises to different African countries to ascertain the conditions of the Volunteers and the Scheme itself.
Lxxvi. The unfortunate death of the grandmother of Prof. Nazmat Surajudeen Bakinde, the Volunteer Vice Chancellor of the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET)was sent back to Abuja after visiting officials had condoled with her at post.
Lxxvii. From November 24,2024, alongside some members of NTAC Management, I commenced a week-long visit to Rwanda, Tanzania and Island Confederate of Zanzibar where I met with the Officials of the Nigerian Missions, the Volunteers and Officials of Government in the individual countries.
Lxxviii. On November 6, 2024,I visited the Minister of State and the Permanent Secretary and shared useful insights on the working of NTAC.
Lxxix. We deployed two Volunteers each to Sierra and to Seychelles.
Lxxx. Officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service paid me a visit while requesting collaboration with NTAC.
Lxxxi. On November 22, 2024, the new website of NTAC (ntac.gov.ng) being built by Messrs Streal Pavard Ltd. was presented to the Management of NTAC.I noted with anger that the former website (dtac.gov.ng) we directed to be pulled down was still running and had, indeed, advertised for Volunteers while soliciting money. We directed further action to pull it down for its conflict of interests bent.
Lxxxii. On November 27, 2024, some NTAC staff were trained by the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN)on diverse aspects of interest, including Forensics, Investigation, Data Analysis, Book Keeping, Identification of Official Fraud etc.
In 2025, we again continued with the delivery of projects, among which are the completion of renovation and remodelling works on the NTAC Complex, furnishings and purchase of 30 and 18-seater buses, as we shall see on the following pages.
i. Receiving of the MD/CEO and members of the VOA Management and the agreement on dedicated media coverage with Voice of Nigeria;
ii. Visit by the Executive and entrance into dedicated coverage partnership with officials of Diplomatic Correspondents of Nigeria ( DICAN);
iii. Development of Development Cooperation with UNDP in New York, USA;
iv. Return and Debriefing of 15 Volunteers from the Republic of Benin;
v. Deployment of 4 Volunteers to Jamaica
vi. Attendance and participation in the Nigeria -Namibia Joint Commission of Cooperation in Windhoek, Namibia;
vii. Deployment of 16 Volunteers to Rwanda and Benin Republic.
- Summary and Conclusion
Today, NTAC has achieved the below on Volunteer handling along:
Deployment – 396
Returned – 140
Countries Visited for Bilateral Engagements – 15
Awaiting Deployments – 114
Total Volunteers Moved – 502. - I thank you all for your support.
