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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Director General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Shuaib Ibrahim, has assured parents and guardians of adequate protection of prospective corps members to be deployed for their 2021 Batch A orientation camp exercise despite the challenging security situation in the country.
Brig-Gen Ibrahim also revealed that the scheme will rely on the security agencies to detect the flashpoints that will not pose threats to corps members as the actions of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in some parts of the country deteriorates.
He spoke to newsmen on the sideline during the opening ceremony of a one-day 2021 Batch A pre-orientation workshop held at Karu in Nasarawa State.
The NYSC boss further promised to also explore the prospects of increased camp capacity without losing sight of the need to adhere strictly to safety protocols.
“Just as I do tell you journalists, the NYSC always collaborate with our security agencies and we are directed accordingly. So, we follow the advice given to us strictly because the safety of corps members matters.
“We are going to be guided by the security agencies. We have been partnering with them, we take corps members to where we are advised by the security agencies because the safety of corps members is very paramount to us. And that is what I will tell you. We are going to act according to the dictates of security agencies,” he assured.
Speaking earlier, he said that the purpose of the workshop was for the NYSC top management, collaborating partners and other critical stakeholders to review the previous orientation
courses with a view to improving their performance in subsequent exercises.
“As you may be aware, the scheme has conducted orientation courses amidst the challenges of COVID-19, through strict adherence to all the safety protocols. We worked closely with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and State Ministry of Health in this regard.
“As the welfare and safety of corps members and staff is part of the policy thrust of my administration, we shall continue to work closely with relevant stakeholders and evolve
strategies for the protection of all members of the camp community during the orientation course.
“It is worthy of mention that all the orientation camps have been put in conditions that will allow seamless conduct of the exercise in line with the approved COVID-19 prevention guidelines.
“However, we would use the opportunity of this workshop to, amongst other things, harness our
experiences and explore the prospect of increased camp capacity without losing sight of the need to adhere strictly to the safety protocols as we must learn to operate optimally under the new normal,” he said.
The governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, assured that the State has the capacity to accommodate more than 2000 corps members, ‘most especially seeing the NYSC DG as being one of us.”
Represented by the State Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Othman Bala Adam, he also dismissed insinuations that Boko Haram insurgents have infiltrated Nasarawa State.
“We are one of the best in this country in terms of proactiveness. Our governor has never been a sleeping one and he is always on his toes in terms of security challenges.
“We will make sure that the lives of corps members and people of Nasarawa State are safeguarded. The claim about insurgents are your own opinion and suggestion.
“They remain allegations and that’s my take on that. We’ve not seen any infiltration of insurgents. But we are not sleeping, we are still proactive in terms of security architecture of the State,” he said.
