Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde has pledged to continually support infrastructural uplift at the permanent orientation camp of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Iseyin, Oyo State.
Makinde also urged the NYSC Governing Board to reform the scheme to bring it in line with modern realities.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, made the governor’s pledge known in a statement signed by him on Friday, February 5, 2021.
The governor, who gave the charge while receiving the Governing Board led by its Chairman, Ambassador Fatimah Bala Abubakar, at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, equally urged the members of the NYSC governing board to make the scheme more relevant to contemporary national realities.
In his remarks during the courtesy visit, Governor Makinde said that his administration would continue to provide facilities that would make operations at the permanent orientation camp conducive.
He also urged members of the NYSC governing board to introduce more initiatives that would bring the scheme in consonance with modern realities.
The governor said: “We believe so much in the NYSC programme. I never had the opportunity to go outside of this region until I went for my NYSC in 1990. The programme has brought a lot of people together, and it has helped in fostering national unity.
“There should have been a lot of modifications to the programme. So, I will encourage the Governing Board to look at those things we can modernise, so that the programme will remain relevant to our situation right now, as opposed to when it was founded in 1973.”
He stated further that he was aware of all of the things listed as challenges, having had the opportunity to meet with the NYSC state coordinator who made some requests.
“We are looking at them. We could not do some last year because it was obviously a tough year for everybody in this country and the whole world.
“We hope to support NYSC in Oyo State, despite the pandemic and other challenges the state is being faced with, and we will support them with some of their requests this year,” the governor said.
Makinde noted further that the NYSC scheme had continued to be a source of personnel for the state, especially from the health and medical sector.
“I must add quickly that NYSC in Oyo State has been a source of personnel for the state, especially from the health and medical sector. They have played vital roles for us.
“So, we want to support them and ensure that they are able to meet up with all the protocols and requirements imposed on all of us by COVID-19, and adjust their facilities accordingly,” he said.
The governor added that he had directed the Commissioner for Finance to include the NYSC in the state’s COVID-19 support funds, adding that his administration would continue to improve the standards of the Corps in the state.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Governing Board, Ambassador Abubakar, had said that the team was on a visit to inspect the state NYSC permanent orientation camp.
She appreciated the state government’s numerous interventions in improving the situation of the Camp, saying that the increment of Corps members allowance from N4,000 to N5,000 was a welcome development.
She equally commended Governor Makinde for approving the construction of additional hostel accommodation in the camp.
Ambassador Abubakar also thanked the governor for approving the purchase of additional bunk beds and mattresses for use of corps members in the NYSC camp.
She appealed to the government to assist in upgrading other facilities at the permanent orientation camp, as well as the office accommodation being used as the state secretariat of the NYSC.
