NYSC renewed, better positioned to support nation’s growth says director

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is renewed and better positioned to support the technological and economic development of the country, the Southeast Area Director, Mr Ahmed Ikaka, has said.

Ikaka said this in Enugu on Monday during a courtesy visit to the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Lasisi Adegboye.

He said that the reforms in the scheme had led to the creation of six area offices in the country with the South East area office located in Enugu State.

On the recent expansion of the NYSC directorate, Ikaka said that the move was a deliberate attempt to decentralise administration with a view to making monitoring and evaluation more effective.

“This will enable us to run the affairs of the scheme easily. The NYSC is now better positioned and more ready than before to support the growth of the nation,” he said.

Ikaka called for greater collaboration between the NYSC and the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army.

“The outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic justified the introduction of the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurial Development (SAED) programme of the NYSC.

“The pandemic challenged the creativity of corps members across the country.”

“The response of the corps members in the production of protective equipment including automated sanitisers is an indication that the SAED programme has come to stay.

“Currently, the SAED which was introduced to make corps members self reliant has been expanded to cover 12 different trades.”

Responding, Adegboye congratulated the management of the NYSC for the decentralisation of its directorate, adding that such was long overdue.

The GOC said that the move would afford the NYSC the opportunity to provide better services to Nigerians and be more responsive to its mandate.

He, however, appealed to the management of the scheme to strive to restrict the movement of corps members.

Adegboye said that the call was necessary in order to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities involving corps members across the country.

He said that corps members should be made to face and concentrate on their national assignments.

Adegboye said that the division would continue to support the NYSC programmes in the various states under its command.

“The state directors should always liaise with us when there are issues and we hope that the cooperation between us and the scheme will continue,” Adegboye said.