NYSC lauds Gov Mbah on revamp of orientation camp

…as governor inspects projects, promises more

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has commended Enugu state Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State on his renovation of the dilapidated structures of the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Awgu local government area of the state, stating that the facility had only received due attention under his administration.

While inspecting the ongoing projects at the camp, the governor promised to complete the work and guarantee the welfare of both NYSC staff and corps members in the state.

Addressing the 1,503 corps members of the Batch A stream 1 at the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, the NYSC Coordinator in Enugu State, Mrs. Christiana Salmwang expressed gratitude for the intervention plan by the state government.

“Distinguished guests, please join me to express our profound gratitude to His Excellency, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, for his keen interest in the overall revamping of facilities in the orientation camp. It might interest you to know that since assumption of office, the governor commenced massive renovation of the camp.

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“The drilling of a second borehole which will greatly cushion the effect of water scarcity is ongoing. We have been assured that before long the orientation camp will be transformed to a modern camp,” she added.

She praised the Chairman of the NYSC Governing Board in the state who is also the state’s Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu, for the interest and support he has shown in the welfare of the corps members at the orientation camp.

Mrs Salmwang stated that the leadership training, paramilitary drills, vocational skills like the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneural Development SAED which corps members are expected to acquire while on camp, is to enable them stay productive and attain some level of economic independence after their service year.

In his address, the Chairman NYSC State Governing Board, Barr Ekweremadu charged the corps members to be good ambassadors of their alma mater and see the opportunities afforded them by the NYSC as a call to serve the nation with dedication and selflessness.

He urged them to avail themselves of the platform that NYSC creates to improve themselves by learning the unique skills and training that the scheme has for them throughout the duration of their service year.

While swearing-in the corps members, the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Raymond Ozoemena, who was represented by Justice Okechukwu Onovo, admonished the Batch A corps members to be of good behavior, show patriotism and commit to the service of the country.

On his part, Governor Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government Professor Chidiebere Onyia, welcomed the corps members to the state, and assured them of his administration’s commitment to furthering their welfare and safety throughout the duration of their service, stressing that the call to serve their fatherland was an important responsibility, which should be taken seriously.

The governor stated that NYSC has become a veritable tool in the country’s quest to build a united nation, exposing the youths to the country’s diverse cultures and traditions which would shape their experiences, skills and complement the knowledge they acquired from their academic programmes.

He enjoined the corps members to key into the state government’s transformative agenda of continuity, collaboration, transparency, accessibility and accountability.

“You should position yourselves as dependable agents of change, national integration and rapid socio-economic development. You must strive to build bridges across your cultural and religious backgrounds and live peacefully with your fellow compatriots while working with one purpose to lift our present dwindling economy.”

The governor, who inspected the projects executed in the camp, commended the management of the NYSC for the innovative approach employed to achieve the objectives of the scheme, saying that his administration has supported the scheme with a number of interventions in addition to ensuring a peaceful atmosphere for the optimal performance of corps members in the state.

“My administration has also provided a number of interventions here ranging from the construction of 79 modern toilet facilities with tiles, reroofing of 5 buildings, access road rehabilitation, overhead water tanks and stanchions, new boreholes, renovation of 13 hostel buildings among other ongoing projects,” he stated.