Pledges More Efforts at Deepening South-South Cooperation,Using Technical Assistance to ACP countries_
By Biola Lawal
Abuja (Flowerbudnews): The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) is set to deploy 15 academics from various fields of endeavour to different Universities in Uganda.
Director General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, disclosed this while speaking at a ceremony held to offer pre-departure orientation to the Volunteers selected from among tertiary institutions across the country,
Hon. Buba Yakub commended Pres. Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his commitment to the provision of technical manpower to countries of Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific regions.
A statement by Nkem Anyata-Lafia, the
Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the NTAC DG disclosed that the 15 volunteers would be deployed to Uganda from tomorrow, Monday July 15.
The NTAC Boss, a former lawmaker, was represented on the occasion by Amb. Zakari Usman, Director of Programmes at the Agency.
Hon. Buba Yakub also said that the Federal Government ‘s efforts were ‘:aimed at ensuring that development among the ACP nations was evenly spread and urged the Volunteers to count themselves lucky for having been selected out of the thousands of applications received by NTAC when it called for entry late 2023.
Buba challenged the Volunteers to see their recruitment to serve in the TAC Scheme as a humanitarian effort to make humanity better and more prepared to face the daily challenges of life, including those posed by his environment.
He said that the Scheme was a national call for actions that promote national interest and admonished the Volunteers to be wary of any actions or activities that may compromise the spirit and intent of the Scheme.
Earlier, while thanking the Federal Government for the opportunity to represent the country in their new capacity.
The Team Lead of the 15 Volunteers, Clement Gboyega Afolabi, a Professor of Plant Pathology at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, who spoke earlier on behalf of his colleagues, thanked the Federal Government for the opportunity to represent the country in their new capacity,
Prof. Afolabi expressed delight at the selection processes through which they were chosen, and promised that they would not to let Nigeria down in their host country.
The University Don also expressed joy at the transparent nature of the processes involved in the exercise and thanked the Management and officials of NTAC for their professionalism and commitment to the mandate of the Corps.
Other Volunteers, who fielded questions with journalists, included Dr.Usman Bature Isyaku of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, and Dr. Peter Chika Uzomba of the Department of Economics, Federal University, Lokoja.
They applauded the TAC Scheme, noting that it was in tandem with the three cardinal objectives of their responsibilities as academics, which Uzomba described as: Teaching, Research and Community Service.
Among those present at the event were the Resource Person of the day’s event and former Director of Programmes at the Agency, Amb. Mohammed Shehu Kangiwa; Mr.Lawandy Bala, Special Assistant on Protocol Matters to the TAC DG, as well as Mr James Dung Pam, a Senior Counselor at the Corps, among many other officials and members of staff of the Agency. (Flowerbudnews)
