The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has appealed for increased support for the Scheme in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria.
He made the appeal during an advocacy visit to the Sole Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Brigadier General Nafiu, who commended the State Government for its notable support to the NYSC Rivers State Secretariat, informed the Administrator that the Orientation Camp in the state requires additional hostel accommodation to cater to the growing number of Corps Members being deployed there.
The NYSC helmsman disclosed that the population of Corps Members nationwide has grown significantly, with the Scheme now mobilising an average of about 400,000 Corps Members annually. He explained that this increase has naturally led to a higher allocation of Corps Members to each state, necessitating the expansion and upgrade of camp facilities, including hostel accommodation.
He emphasised that the Orientation Camp is the Corps Members’ first point of contact with the NYSC and the venue of the three-week Orientation Exercise that prepares them for national service and nation-building. He stressed the importance of providing a safe and conducive environment for effective induction.
Brigadier General Nafiu further noted that he had visited nearly all Orientation Camps across the country and could confidently rate the Rivers State Orientation Camp auditorium as the most spacious and modern among them. He commended the State Government for providing such a remarkable facility.
He stated: “Corps Members currently undergoing the Orientation Exercise in Rivers State are in high spirits and eager to contribute meaningfully to the development of the state.”
In his response, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas expressed the State Government’s readiness to support the NYSC in the state. He pledged to augment the feeding of Corps Members during the Orientation Exercise and to assist with their monthly stipends.
He assured: “The state will consider the request to upgrade camp facilities, especially hostel accommodation for Corps Members.”