The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps says eight volunteers will be deployed to Seychelles and The Gambia to bridge both educational and professional gaps.

NTAC director-general Yusuf Yakub said this during the deployment exercise held in Abuja for the eight volunteers going to Seychelles and The Gambia.

Mr Yakub said that the exercise aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s 4D foreign policy agenda: democracy, development, demography, and diaspora. He described it as a strong pillar of Nigeria’s soft-power diplomacy to Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

He said that the TAC scheme, which was now in its 38th year.

Mr Yakub said that the scheme had reached its peak in terms of engagements under the current administration and had so far deployed over 10,000 volunteers to more than 40 countries across the ACP.

He urged the volunteers, of whom five are destined for The Gambia and three for Seychelles, to see their assignments as national and humanitarian service.

He said that their service was a representation of Nigeria’s image abroad.

“The citizens of the host communities would see them first as Nigerians. I charge them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, discipline and conduct,” he said.

Mr Yakub said that their welfare would be fully catered for by the federal government, while the Nigerian embassies in the recipient countries would serve as their guardians upon arrival.

He said that Nigeria had become one of the largest exporters of skilled labour on the continent, and a major contributor to global development goals, including the SDGs.

He said that NTAC had introduced a new initiative to export skilled labour for a fee, a move expected to reduce illegal migration and to promote dignified mobility for Nigerian professionals.

(NAN)