Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State on Tuesday, lauded the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for its contribution to the fight against the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He made the commendation at the inauguration of the NYSC 2021 Batch ‘A’ Pre-Orientation Workshop held in Karu Local Government Area of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the workshop is: “Managing Corps Population in the Orientation Camps, in the Context of the New Normal.’’
Sule, who was represented by Alhaji Othman Bala-Adam, Commissioner of Youths and Sports Development, also lauded the scheme for also being in the forefront in fostering national unity.
He said that the NYSC, in spite of lean resources, has contributed immensely to the fight against the COVID-19.
According to him, this was achieved largely through the production of the COVID-19 protective items such as face masks and hand sanitizers among others, which helped in limiting the spread of the virus across the country.
“We will continue to record it as NYSC contribution to national development. I commend the efforts of the NYSC Director General, management team, stakeholders, NYSC officials and corps members toward enhancing the viability and relevance of NYSC scheme through their involvement,” he said.
The governor also appreciated the contributions of corps members posted to Nasarawa for their contributions to agriculture and food sustainability, through the development and cultivation of demonstration farms across the state.
“Their contributions in education, health and rural development are also commendable. I wish to reaffirm my administration’s commitment to the NYSC scheme in Nasarawa State, through the provision of conducive working environment,” he said.
He said that the workshop would be beneficial to the state, as it would afford it the opportunity to showcase its hospitality and culture, hence the support given to NYSC to host it in the state.
In his speech, Brig.- Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, Director General of the NYSC, said the scheme organised the workshop for staff and other stakeholders, with a view to review past orientation exercises and improving on them in future.
“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 Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and States Ministries of health in this regard.
“We shall continue to work closely with relevant stakeholders and evolve strategies for the protection of corps members and the camp communities, during the orientation course.
“However, we will use the opportunity of this workshop to amongst other things, harness our experiences.
”We will also explore the prospect of increasing camp capacity without losing sight on the need to adhere strictly to the safety protocols and the need to operate optimally under the new normal,” he said.
In his welcome remark, Alhaji Ahmed Ikaka-Wada, NYSC Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, lauded the Gov. Sule led administration, for granting NYSC the approval to hold the workshop in the state.
He said that the workshop was organised in view of the forthcoming 2021 Batch A Stream II course and the need to continue to observe all the COVID-19 safety protocols during the exercise.
“The conduct of this workshop has become absolutely necessary. In the course of the workshop, participants will review the previous orientation courses and brainstorm with the view to evolving strategies that will guide the seamless conduct of the forthcoming exercise,” he said.
NAN reports that senior management staff of the NYSC, the state coordinators and officials, were among the participants at the workshop. (NAN)
