Story By Roland Ekama.

Graduates under the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) have raised alarm that most of what they learnt while schooling overseas are gradually fading away due to lack of job placement aboard ships by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) since inception of the scheme.

The NSDP was established in 2009 by the NIMASA Act under Ade Dosunmu with the aim to bridge the indigenous manpower deficit arising from the ageing set of seafarers in the shipping sector.

From inception of the exercise till date, beneficiaries have reiterated the dearth of job as a major threat to their career.

The graduates while lamenting on their present predicament to Business and Maritime West Africa on Wednesday, expressed dissatisfaction over the cavalier attitude of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to ensure that they secure jobs aboard both local and international ships.

It was also gathered that the graduates from UK, India, Philippines had recently embarked on a solidarity protest at the Apapa office of the agency over the development.

While speaking with our correspondent, the graduates who spoke under condition of anonymity, also threatened to embark on another round of peaceful protest at the NIMASA corporate head office in order to drive home their demands.

According to them, the apex maritime regulatory agency had promised to secure employment aboard ships after graduation but all hopes have been lost.

Two of the graduates from Lyceum International Maritime Academy of the Philippines University Batangas stated that Nigerian students are the best in their respective fields of studies during the academicseason yet government has failed to utilize the opportunity that would turn around the fortune of the shipping sector of the country.

The marine engineering graduates maintained that graduates who are not yet engaged under the NSDP from the beginning of the exercise would also join the solidarity which is expected to come up soon.

"We graduated in 2016 and as we speak nothing has been put in place for us to be engaged aboard ships"

"Our situation is even better because some us graduated two years ago yet NIMASA cannot help to secure job placement for them".

"We are 136 that graduated from Lyceum International Maritime Academy in the Philippines and as we speak none of us can boast of employment "

"While in Philippines NIMASA had promised us that as soon as we are done, there will secure job placemen5 for us all", they decried.

The NSDP graduates however called on the government to enforce the Cabotage Act as it has failed maritime operators in many ways.