The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Tuesday said that security agencies would name places that would not get corps members as a result of activities of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents.
The organisation also said it was considering increasing camp capacity with strict adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols.
The Director General of the NYSC, Brig. Gen. Shuaib Ibrahim, stated these in an interview with journalists during the opening ceremony of a one-day 2021 Batch A pre-orientation workshop in Karu in Nasarawa State.
Ibrahim said, “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 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.”
According to him, the purpose of the workshop was for the NYSC top management, collaborating partners and other stakeholders to review the previous orientation courses with a view to improving them in subsequent exercises.
He said “The scheme has conducted orientation courses amidst the challenges of COVID-19.
“We worked closely with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
and state Ministries of Health in this regard.
“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 will 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.”
The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, represented by the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Othman Bala Adam, said the state had the capacity and could accommodate more than 2000 corps members.
He also dismissed insinuations that Boko Haram insurgents have infiltrated Nasarawa State.
