The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the promotion of healthy living among Nigerians.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations, NYSC, Mr Eddy Megwa, on Friday in Abuja.
At the ceremony, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, said that youth corps members’ presence in all the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the country would be a good driver of the initiative.
This, she said, was because they would serve as change agents to sensitise Nigerians to the dangers of drug abuse and expired drugs, especially at the grassroots.
She said that the agency’s mandate was to safeguard the health of Nigerians alongside the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
“The MSMEs are the ones that actually drive the economy and having NAFDAC desks in the 774 LGAs will bring NAFDAC closer to the people through the youth corps members,” she said.
The Director-General of NYSC, Maj.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, represented by the Director, Legal Services, Mr Ibrahim Tijani, assured that the scheme would abide by the terms of the MoU.
He commended NAFDAC for the initiative adding that youth corps members would be helpful in the collaboration, given the successes they had recorded in previous national assignments.
Also, Mr Abdulrasaq Salawu, the Director, Community Development Service and Special Projects of NYSC, said the MoU was long overdue.
He added that corps members would always be ready to create awareness on government’s programmes and activities geared toward national development. (NAN)