as Corps clears debts, targets 450 global volunteer deployments by October
By Favour Ulebor, Abuja
The Director-General of the Nigeria Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), Yusuf Buba Yakub, has said the agency is finalising plans to begin the export of Nigerian labour with dignity to countries across the world, in order to create employment, discourage irregular migration, and reposition Nigeria’s human capital as a source of foreign exchange.
Speaking while presenting his two-year stewardship scorecard on Friday in Abuja, Yakub said the initiative, which has already secured approval from the Federal Ministry of Justice after consultation with the Ministries of Labour, Health and Foreign Affairs, will expand beyond NTAC’s soft power diplomacy into structured labour export programmes.
He explained that during a visit to Jamaica, NTAC was asked to provide additional manpower beyond the initial seven volunteers planned.
Yakub stressed that NTAC has been able to consistently meet its volunteer deployment obligations despite budget pressures caused by exchange rate fluctuations.
He said the Corps has deployed enough volunteers across various host countries, are well paid and properly supported in line with Nigeria’s foreign policy commitments.
He explained that as part of strengthening the institution, NTAC had introduced new ICT infrastructure to modernise its operations, launched an in-house magazine and documentary series to showcase its work, and reactivated its Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) under the supervision of the ICPC to guarantee fairness in recruitment and deployment.
He said, “One of the new policy I came in with is to turn Nigeria Technical Aid Corps into a hub for the export of our manpower, not just for free, but also for money. And so side by side with the soft power diplomacy export to support our brothers in Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific, and also to serve humanity.
“We are trying to introduce or have introduced the sale of our manpower to discourage Japa, to also discourage our citizens dying out there in the deserts and in the ocean. And most importantly, to create employment for our citizens.
“And by the end of the year, we will be meeting our budget by 90% and more because by the end of October, we will have over 450 volunteers out there. So despite the slight differential in exchange rate, we are going to meet our budget; by the grace of God, at the end of the year,” he said.
Speaking on the clearance of debts and reforms in the Corps, the DG also noted that when he assumed office in August 2023, he inherited over 198 serving volunteers, dilapidated infrastructure, ageing vehicles, and hundreds of millions of naira in unpaid allowances and ticket debts.
Despite funding challenges, Yakub said his leadership had also overseen rehabilitation of NTAC’s headquarters building and upgrades of staff welfare, largely through his personal outreach to partners and friends of the agency.
He assured that the debts which covered unpaid volunteer salaries, ticket refunds, and allowances had all been fully settled.
He also linked NTAC’s activities to President Bola Tinubu’s 4D foreign policy initiative of Democracy, Demography, Diaspora and Development.
Speaking on youth involvement, Yakub added that the Corps was also giving Nigerian youths and professionals international exposure, retraining opportunities, and a chance to return home with global experience.
He said, “And despite inheriting a lot of salaries unpaid of volunteers and a lot of tickets, money not paid, in hundreds of millions, by the grace of God and with the support of Mr. President, today we have cleared all our debts. We are not owing again. We have paid all of our volunteers.
“In terms of the new countries we have opened within this period, we have Grenada, which is in the South Caribbean. We have Equatorial Guinea. We have South Sudan. And we have Zanzibar. So these are the new countries that we have opened our relationship with in the past two years,” he announced.
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