The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has said that the agency is not recruiting and advised members of the public not to be deceived by fraudsters.
This is contained in a statement by the Head, Corporate Communication of NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka, on Saturday in Lagos, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The Director-General, Dr Dakuku Peterside, said that NIMASA was not recruiting at the moment, adding that members of the public should not be deceived that the agency had engaged a recruitment firm to employ on its behalf.
“We urge members of the public to disregard the activities of unscrupulous elements who are bent in defrauding them of their hard-earned resources under the guise of engaging on a recruitment exercise for NIMASA,’’ Peterside said.
He also described as fraudulent an online platform purporting that the agency had floated a scholarship programme tagged “NIMASA Scholarship 2016/2017’’.
Peterside, said that the advertisement was the handiwork of some “unscrupulous’’ elements with an intention to rip off unsuspecting members of the public.
The director-general advised people not to patronise fraudsters.
He said that “As a public institution committed to the rule of law and best practices, NIMASA has standard procedures for communicating its activities and will not request money from would-be candidates as the fraudsters are doing.’’
“For the avoidance of doubt, the agency will always communicate its programmes and projects through well-known channels of the media, its website and the social media,’’ the director-general said.
Peterside, who regretted the negative impact of the activities of the fraudsters, warned that the NIMASA in collaboration with security agencies had launched an investigation into the matter, adding that those behind the fraud must face the full wrath of the law.
NAN reports that the agency urged the public to contact it for clarification of issues on twitter at @nimasaofficial, facebook at facebook.com/nimasaofficial and email at [email protected] or [email protected].