Give us state governing boards, NYSC tells Governors

…targets expansion of camp facilities to 5,000 carrying-capacity in states

By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja

In order to enhance the success of its programmes, the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, on Thursday, called on the 36 state governors to constitute and empower governing boards for the Scheme in their domains.

Director-General of the Scheme, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, made the appeal in his keynote address at the ongoing meeting of NYSC’s top management with representatives of the State Governments and the FCT administration, in Abuja.

Ibrahim noted that doing so was in line with the provisions of Section 6(2) of the NYSC Act, which identified the statutory functions of the State Governing Boards. He, however, regretted that “there are still many states that have not commenced any process of putting Governing Boards in place.”

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Ibrahim also urged the governors to set up functional NYSC Local Government Committees in each of the LGAs in their territories. While stressing the need for the provision of a conducive environment for the orientation programmes, he reiterated the Scheme’s target of expanding the carrying capacity of each camp to 5,000 corps members.

So, the NYSC DG commended the 24 states that recently maintained and upgraded their camp facilities, and urged them to sustain their commitment to the welfare of corps members.

“I call on States whose Orientation Camps are still in degraded conditions to rise to the occasion and help in putting the facilities in proper shape. I also want to remind all States of our request for the expansion of the carrying capacity of each Orientation Camp to at least five thousand in view of the rapid growth of the Corps population,” Ibrahim stressed.

He also called for a review of the stipends paid to corps members in their states, given the prevailing economic situation.

The Director-General tasked stakeholders to ensure the safety of all Corps Members and NYSC Staff in all service locations across the country.

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“May l also reiterate our appeal to State and Local Governments, as well as other stakeholders such as traditional rulers, religious and community leaders to step up their support in this regard,” he added.

Ibrahim maintained that corps members were trained to identify the needs of their host communities and work with the community members to execute solution-driven projects.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that support for community development services will complement and fast track Government’s efforts at rural transformation.

“It is however demoralizing to note that the level of support for Community Development activities of the Scheme is continuously declining, thereby raising concerns among stakeholders,” he said.

Vanguard News Nigeria

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