By Ibrahim Mohammed
The Director General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim has reassured Nigerians of the scheme’s commitment towards finding a missing corps member, Value Eromosele Akhigbe, saying members of the public should assist with information that will facilitate his safe return back home.
Shuaibu, stated this on Thursday in an address at a media parley in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The Director General recalled that he was ‘‘in Uromi, Edo State, to reassure’’ the missing corps member’s family of efforts being made to ensure that ‘‘he returns unhurt.’’
Besides, ‘‘the unfortunate loss of Precious Owolabi who was shot in the line of duty recently was a shocking one for the NYSC family. As we share in the grief of his immediate family. I undertook a trip to them in Zaria to express our heart-felt condolences.
‘‘Also comforting was the gesture of President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, accompanied by the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai on a condolence visit to the bereaved family. We that the Federal Government for standing by the family in their moment of grief.’’
The deceased corps member was attached to Channels Television Station in Abuja, for the mandatory (except on exemption) one year National Youth Service Corps scheme when he was shot dead recently, while covering a protest by members of now proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) to press for the release of their leader, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
A senior police officer was also killed in the bloody protest that left many scampering for safety.
Ibrahim, also stated that ‘‘another corps member that got missing in Jigawa State was found two weeks ago.’’
The scheme which is mandatory for Nigerian graduates of regular Degree and Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes, both foreign and locally trained, who are 30 years old and below according to him is ‘‘in continuous liaison with various security agencies with a view to ensuring the safety of corps members wherever they are serving’’ in the West African country of 201 million people.
He further said that scheme accords to priority to the security and general welfare of corps members as well as committed to the provision of enabling environment for them to render selfless service to the nation.
In this vein, he stated that ‘‘over the years we have been able to secure the review of corps members allowance each time there is increment in the remuneration of civil servants,’’ but when asked during a question and answer section at the media parley to state timeline for the implementation of the newly approved N30,000 minimum wage by the Federal Government, the Direction General said, that will be done as soon as it is ‘‘transmitted’’ to the scheme.
For her part, the NYSC Director, Press and Public Relations unit, Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi, in a remark pointed out that the scheme ‘‘over the years has become a household name in Nigeria with visible impacts in the socio-economic development of the country.’’
As an organization that values its critical stakeholders, Mrs. Adeyemi noted that ‘‘we have continued to enlist the support of our media partners to showcase the scheme’s efforts and contributions towards advancing our dear country to greater height.’’
Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim is the 18th Chief Executive of NYSC assumed office on May 10, 2019. He listed the achievements of the scheme to include: fostering of national unity and integration through the policy of deploying corps members to states other than state of origin, educational development through posting to schools, hospitals and community development services amongst others.
He pointed out that ‘‘under my watch’’ unqualified person will not be mobilized for the scheme in which 4,644,804 (four million six hundred and forty-four thousand eight hundred and four) Nigerians have participated in since its inception.
The scheme was established in the year 1973, by Decree No. 24, later repealed by Decree and replaced by Decree No. 51 in 1993, which is now known as National Youth Service Corps Act, Cap N84, law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
