Kaduna: NYSC wants befitting orientation camp for corps members

The Director-General (D-G) of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, has appealed to the Kaduna State Government to build a befitting orientation camp for corps members in the state.

Ahmed made the appeal at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Batch ‘B’ pre-orientation course workshop on Tuesday in Kaduna.

The theme of the workshop was: “Repositioning the NYSC orientation course in the post-golden jubilee era for effective national service”.

Our correspondent reports that the NYSC permanent orientation camp is located at Sabon Gaya, along Kaduna-Abuja highway, an outskirt of the state.

It was relocated to a temporary site at Government College, Kurmin Mashi, for more safety and security of corps members.

According to Ahmed, apart from its implications for the welfare of participants and general success of orientation course, the camp as the first point of call for corps members, creates lasting impression about the state.

He said that the pre-orientation course workshop offered a forum for key officials of the NYSC and its partner agencies to review the conduct of previous orientation courses and strategise for improved performance.

Ahmed noted that they were working closely with critical stakeholders towards ensuring the success of the 2023 Batch ‘B’ orientation course.

He said the forum would come up with far-reaching resolutions and, especially, issue policy guidelines for the smooth conduct of the exercise.

The D-G, who appreciated the contributions of the Kaduna State Government to the success of NYSC operations in the state, expressed confidence that the support would be sustained by the new Administration.

He called on other stakeholders to keep faith with the Scheme, adding that they were striving towards the transformation of graduate youths for national development.

He also thanked the Federal Government for its continued support, especially through prompt release of funds for the Scheme’s operations.

He appreciated other state Governments, security agencies, traditional rulers and other stakeholders for their immense support.

Earlier, the state Deputy Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Balarabe, had noted that corps members have continued to provide services to Nigeria and Nigerians in the areas of healthcare delivery, education, skills acquisition, among others.

Balarabe noted that lives of millions of corps members have been positively impacted by the various communities where they were posted for their primary assignments.

“They, too, have impacted positively in those communities,” she said.

She said that although the scheme was still relevant and necessary, there was need for continued update to meet up with current realities.

The deputy governor noted that an inter-ministerial committee was set up to examine the operations of the scheme and recommend areas of improvement on its sustenance among other things.

She commended the commitment of the scheme towards restructuring and re-engineering of its operations to conform with modern times.