The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on Sunday washed its hands off a purported ongoing recruitment exercise in the Agency.

NIMASA spokesman, Isichei Osamgbi stated in a statement issued in Lagos: “It is imperative to state, in the interest of the unsuspecting public, that the Agency has not launched a recruitment campaign of any kind at the moment; and that NIMASA is not associated with any of the adverts being peddled on various social media platforms to defraud unsuspecting citizens seeking legitimate employment in the organisation.

“This clarification is necessitated by the recruitment advert supposedly floated by the Agency and circulated on various social media platforms, with the intention of misleading and defrauding Nigerians.

“As inimical as the spurious advert may be to the lives of unsuspecting and desperate job seekers in the country, the Agency’s Management under the leadership of Dr. Dakuku Peterside would continue to operate within the tenets of its core values of commitment, Accountability, Discipline and Transparency in dealing with its stakeholders, including Nigerians who may wish to contribute to the development of the country through employment in NIMASA.

“The most common tactics of the scam involved: twitter and/or text messages, e-mails, as well as letters inviting gullible and desperate job seekers for fake job interviews at different locations across the country claiming to be consultants to NIMASA.

”The Agency has informed appropriate authorities of the activities of these unscrupulous elements who are going about peddling false information to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians and we appeal to members of the public, particularly job seekers, to treat any of such adverts as fake, as the Agency is currently not in the process of employing. Anyone who entertains such invitations does so at his or her own risk.

“For the umpteen time, NIMASA as a responsible corporate citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has not commissioned or contracted any individual or group to engage in recruitment of anybody on behalf of the Agency. At the appropriate time, NIMASA would advertise for available vacancies for qualified Nigerians to apply.”