NTAC DG Charges Volunteers to Uphold Excellence as 12 Depart for Uganda And Sierra Leone

By Isah Aliyu Chiroma

NTAC DG Rt Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub and Director of Programs Amb. Zakari Usman in a group photograph with Volunteers

The Director-General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), Rt. Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub has urged 12 newly-selected volunteers to maintain excellence, patriotism, and service as they embark on a 24-month deployment to Uganda and Sierra Leone under the Technical Aid Corps scheme.

The charge was given during an official orientation exercise held at the NTAC Complex in Abuja on Tuesday. Buba Yakub reiterated his gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his continuous support of the agency, noting that since assuming office, the President has prioritised Nigeria’s soft power diplomacy through the Technical Aid Corps scheme.

The volunteers, drawn from diverse fields such as medicine, law, education, public health, and ICT, will serve for two years under bilateral agreements aimed at promoting shared growth and development. Buba Yakub assured them that their welfare remains a top priority for both NTAC and the Federal Government.

“You can now appreciate the much that the Government does and be very good Ambassadors of the country,” Buba Yakub said. He also urged the volunteers, many of whom are academics, to understand the Federal Government’s efforts across all sectors and to shun industrial action in favour of dialogue.

The volunteers were advised to maintain close contact with Nigerian Missions in their host countries and uphold the nation’s image and values abroad. Team leads for the Uganda and Sierra Leone deployments — Prof. Haruna Ayuba of the University of Maiduguri, Prof. Ngozi Azubuike Alili of Kogi State University, and Dr Goodness Enegbogheli of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education — praised the Federal Government’s commitment to the TAC Scheme and pledged to represent Nigeria with excellence.

Group photographs of the DG, senior management staff, and the departing volunteers.