By Tina Omoregie, Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Muhammad Bello has pledged support for the National Youth Service Corps in its efforts towards preventing unqualified graduates into the Mobilisation process.
He said the innovations brought by the Scheme in the sensitization of the general public about its activities and in particular, its vibrancy and high level of commitment to its relevance in national assgnments is commendable.
He stated this while declaring the 2021 Batch ‘B’ Pre-Mobilization Workshop open in Abuja.
The topic of the Workshop is; “Sustainable Mobilization Process: The Role of Stakeholders.”
Bello, who was represented at the Workshop by the Secretary, Development Secretariat, Dr Kelvin Ogbonna, said the NYSC Scheme has attained many feats in its almost fifty years of existence.
He said, apart from promoting National Unity and development, the services rendered by the patriotic young Corps Members have been felt tremendously particularly in the areas of education, health, agriculture and other critical sectors.
“Therefore, the nation is most grateful to the founding fathers of the Scheme, successive administrations, and indeed, all Corps Members, past and present.
“The innovations brought by the Scheme in the sensitization of the general public about its activities and in particular, the current fight against mobilization of unqualified graduates for National Service is well appreciated by all,” he said.
NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim in his address said while the Scheme remains deeply committed to the success of the mobilization process, it expects other stakeholders to also be above board in the discharge of their responsibilities.
He said, “Management is delighted at the significant gains arising from the Scheme’s previous engagements, including improvements in data integrity, reduction in errors, and renewed dedication by Student Affairs and Data Entry Officers of Corps Producing Institutions in the country.”
He however added that where few cases of wrongdoing have been identified, the Scheme would apply the necessary sanctions on the erring institutions and officials to serve as deterrent to others.
The DG said both the Management and the Corps Members have weathered the storm over the years in order to keep alive the dream of the Scheme’s founding fathers, adding that the major pre-occupation of the Management is to ensure that the Scheme remains responsive to National needs.
“For instance, while the nation was on lockdown, as a result of COVID-19, we harnessed the skills of our Corps Members for contribution towards containing the pandemic.
“Also, in a bid to address the challenge of graduate employment, NYSC has for the last nine years vigorously pursueed skills and entrepreneurship training for Corps Members with a view to empowering them for self-employment and wealth creation.
“Our contributions to the promotion of national unity and integration as well as the impact of the Scheme on various spheres of development such as rural infrastructure, sports and other social services have continued to earn the applause of all and sundry,” he said.
Ibrahim appealed to the participants to use the workshop resolutions to strategize for a smooth mobilization process.
The Pre-Mobilization Workshop is a forum where stakeholders in the mobilization process meet to evaluate the previous mobilization exercise with a view to drawing up roadmap for the success of the upcoming one.