The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed has called on its State Coordinators to be strategic in deepening the positive image of the scheme from the grassroots through effective collaboration with the media.
The Director General made the call during the Media Management workshop for members of NYSC, top management, and State coordinators in Abuja. The theme was “leveraging on Media Organisations to deepen contributions of NYSC to National Development in the post-golden Jubilee Era.”
Brigadier General Ahmed said that “there is a need to ensure seamless and deepened partnership with the media as they provide a veritable platform for their own side of the story to be heard.”
“I consider it most appropriate to use this form to remind State Coordinators that just as you are the accounting officers in your various secretariats, you are equally the chief public relations officer of the scheme at the secretariat level. Consequently, your actions or inactions concerning issues affecting NYSC can impact the scheme positively or negatively,” he stated.
The Director, Press and Public Relations, Mr Eddy Megwa said the training is in line with the Director-General’s desire that the corporate image of the scheme is adequately protected through robust engagement with the Media which constitutes veritable partners-in-progress with the scheme since its inception.
He said; “Consequently, it has become very necessary that we become strategic in deepening the positive image of the scheme from the grassroots through effective collaboration with the media, which as it were is the most viable option to reduce to the barest minimum the negative criticisms on the scheme, often based on subjective considerations by some people with selfish interests.”
Mr Megwa appealed to State coordinators to develop closer ties with their state Public Relations Officers for more positive results in media relations.
“Coordinators are the Chief image makers of the scheme in the field. It is your responsibility to ensure that a cordial relationship is maintained with the media houses in your states,” he further stated.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
