Joseph Bakare
The Director General (DG) of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has appealed for more support for the Scheme in Rivers State, saying the orientation camp facility is bereft of essential amenities.
He made the appeal when he paid an advocacy visit to the Sole Administrator of the State, Vice- Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, the State Capital.
Nafiu who commended the State Government for its notable assistance to the NYSC River State Secretariat, informed the Administrator that the State’s Orientation Camp requires additional hostel accommodation to cater for the increased number of Corps Members being deployed to the State.
The NYSC Chief Executive disclosed that the Corps population had grown to the point where the Scheme now mobilizes an average of about 400,000 Corps Members annually, which means that the allocation of Corps Members per State had naturally increased, necessitating the upgrade of Camp facilities, including hostel accommodation.
He pointed out that the Orientation Camp is the Corps Members’ first point of contact with the NYSC and the domain of the 3 week-long Orientation Exercise that prepares them for the task of National Service and nation building, adding that it is important for the Camp to be safe and conducive for effective induction.
The Director General said he had visited almost all the Orientation Camps and could confidently rate the Rivers State Orientation Camp auditorium as the most sizeable and modern one among all the ones visited. He commended the State Government for availing the Scheme of such an edifice.
Nafiu intimated his host that the Corps Members in the Rivers State Orientation Camp are in high spirits and obviously set to contribute their quota to the development of the State.
The Rivers State Administrator, Vice- Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, expressed the readiness of the State Government to assist the NYSC formation in the State by augmenting the feeding of Corps Members during Orientation Exercise as well as their monthly stipends. He further promised to look into the request to upgrade the camp facilities, especially the hostel accommodation for Corps Members members.