The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim has declared that mobilisation of corps members is anchored on the promotion of national unity and integration.
The Director General made the declaration in his address delivered at the Swearing-in ceremony for the Batch ‘B’ (Stream II) corps members undergoing orientation course nationwide.
Represented at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko by the Ondo State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs. Victoria Nnenna Ani, the Director General said that the orientation course is meant to prepare the corps members physically and mentally for the expected contributions to the progress and development of the fatherland.
General Ibrahim said that the presence of corps members in the camp is an opportunity of a lifetime and therefore enjoined them to participate actively in all the programmes in other to succeed.
“May I also stress that you have been deliberately assembled from diverse ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds to enable you begin, right from here, the performance of your much-envisaged roles in the promotion of national unity and integration”.
He therefore encouraged the members of the service corps to ensure healthy interactions, exchange ideas that will broaden their understanding of the country and build lasting friendships.
The NYSC boss who is an Associate Professor implored the new entrants into the NYSC family to find time to mediate over the spirit and letters of the Oath of Allegiance they sworn to and be guided by same throughout the service year and beyond.
“Interestingly, the content of the NYSC oath has also influenced the guiding principles of many patriotic Nigerians, years after their participation in the National Service. In the same vein, I advise you to familiarise yourselves with the content of both the NYSC Act and the NYSC Bye-Laws”
The one star General disclosed that the rate of graduate unemployment is of great concern to the Federal Government and that all efforts are geared towards addressing the challenge as clearly demonstrated through various policies and programmes.
“As a Scheme that is responsive to prevailing national needs, The National Youth Service Corps, is always assiduous in the implementation of its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme”.
This, according to the NYSC helmsman is meant to prepare corps members for self-employment and wealth creation through vocational and entrepreneurial training as well as linkage with financial institutions and other funding sources for business start-up financing.
“The SAED training will commence on camp in the coming days, and I urge you to avail yourselves of this opportunity instead of joining the ranks of unemployed graduates scouting for rarely available white collar jobs” he said.
He reiterated the commitment of Nigeria and the rest of the global community to stamp out COVID -19 and called on the corps members and the entire camp community to ensure strict compliance with all the preventive protocols throughout the period of orientation course and beyond.
“I also encourage you to present yourselves for the COVID -19 vaccination whenever it is made available in or out of the orientation camp” he concluded.
During the Swearing in proper, the representative of the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Honourable Justice Ademola Enikuomeyin administered Oath of Allegiance on 1061 prospective corps members made up of 507 males and 554 females respectively.
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