The National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) has directed States and FCT Coordinators to ensure strict compliance with COVID-19 prevention and safety protocols in all camps and other formations nationwide.
Brig-Gen Shuaibu Ibrahim, NYSC Director-General, who gave the directive in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said that corps members were critical change agents in national development.
According to him, prospective corps members and camp officials will all be subjected to COVID-19 tests as precondition for entry into the orientation camps.
The statement was signed by Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi, NYSC Director, Press and Public Relations.
The NYSC boss while interacting with the scheme’s management and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) officials during a virtual meeting said that corps vanguards and enforcement teams had been constituted for all the camps.
He said that the team would serve as a measure to ensure strict compliance as well as support the national response efforts in stemming the tide of the new wave of the Pandemic.
The virtual meeting was held as part of preparations for the conduct of the forthcoming Batch “B” Stream II Orientation Course, scheduled to begin on Jan. 19.
He expressed gratitude to the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the NCDC for considering re-opening of the orientation camps.
Ibrahim noted that the potential of corps members would continue to be effectively harnessed in the health, education and other vital sectors of the national economy.
He added that necessary facilities that would enhance compliance with COVID-19 prevention and safety protocols were provided in the camps.
Dr Oyeladun Okunromade, NCDC team leader, described the NYSC’s response to COVID-19 pandemic as a functional model currently being considered for replication in other sectors.
Okunromade said that the model would enhance community testing, thus, safeguarding the health of the nation.
He expressed satisfaction with the facilities put in place to enhance compliance with the COVID-19 prevention and safety protocols in the previous orientation programmes.
He called for increased vigilance and cooperation to consolidate the success already recorded for subsequent orientations