The National Directorate for Employment (NDE) has commenced training for basic security procedures for its staff members across the federation as part of efforts to sensitise them on efforts to protect themselves and the directorate from all sorts of threats.

At the first phase of the workshop, which held for the staff of the FCT Directorate, the Director General of the NDE, Mr. Abubakar Mohammed, said there was an urgent need to create awareness on potential threats and hazards caused by the security situation in the country.

These threats include theft, kidnapping and sabotage which can cause both physical and psychological damage. "Due to susceptibility of public buildings and personnel to attack, agencies must recognise their vulnerabilities, keep their staff members alert for suspicious activities and learn basic emergency procedures in the event of natural or man-made disasters," he said.

Mohammed added that although the rate of insecurity can be linked to the high rate of unemployment, other factors are also responsible. He recalled that the NDE office in Maiduguri was bombed in 2010, adding that although the staff members are back in the building, they have been instructed to evacuate at the first sign of danger.

The insecurity in the Borno State, the DG noted, has however not affected the employment generation programmes of the commission in the state and other states in the North East.

The NDE FCT Director, Mr. Muhammad Ada Shuaibu, in his welcome address said it was necessary for the government and all private sector employers to make efforts to increase security consciousness among their employees.

"Any education on security matters would remind us that we take little things for granted at our own peril especially at this critical period in national development with the unfolding challenges," he said. The security workshop would be provided for the NDE's staff in the six geo-political zones of the country.