NYSC urges LASG to complete 7,000-capacity orientation camp

Image result for NYSC urges LASG to complete 7,000-capacity orientation campThe National Youth Service Corps has urged the Lagos State Government to ensure the speedy completion of the 7,000-capacity new orientation camp in the Ikorodu area of the state.

The NYSC Director-General, Brig Gen Shuaibu Ibrahim, made the plea during a courtesy visit to the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in his office at Alausa, Ikeja.

The new camp is said to occupy 10 hectares of land and was allocated to the NYSC by the state government in 2015.

According to a statement by the NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, the scheme had designed a prototype for the camp project to house 7,000 corps members and 600 camp officials.

The design was said to have been presented to the immediate past governor of the state, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.

The statement quoted Ibrahim as also urging the state government to provide land for the construction of the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Lagos for corps members to be trained in various vocational skills.

Ibrahim said this would reduce the rate of unemployment among the youth and make corps members employers of labour.

In a related manner, Sanwo-Olu has tasked the NYSC to focus on training corps members in entrepreneurship.

He also proposed the design of programmes to reorientate corps members towards turning them into good ambassadors of the country.

The governor said this while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Batch ‘B’ pre-orientation workshop in Ikeja, Lagos.

Represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, Sanwo-Olu said there was the need for an ethical rebirth of  the youth, saying that the NYSC was a good platform wherein this could be achieved.

The governor noted that the 21st century economic development strategy of his administration was premised on technology and entrepreneurship, urging the NYSC to initiate programmes in that regard.

According to a statement, Sanwo-Olu noted that the NYSC scheme had fostered unity and contributed immensely to the growth of the state.

He said his administration would continue to support the scheme by providing a conducive environment for the body to achieve its objectives.

“We will deepen the existing partnership between the NYSC and the Lagos State Government, especially in the areas of skills acquisition, entrepreneurial development, training as well as empowerment – in our pursuit of ensuring sustainable livelihoods for the youth in Lagos State,” he said.

In his welcome address, the NYSC Director-General said the pre-orientation workshop was a forum for the scheme’s managers and its partners to review previous orientation courses with a view to tackling identified challenges and mapping out new strategies for the successful conduct of the forthcoming exercise.

He appealed to state governments across the country to provide permanent orientation camps and upgrade camp facilities for corps members.

Ibrahim also commended Lagos State Government for supporting the feeding of corps members, allocating land for the construction of a permanent orientation camp and providing business capital for entrepreneurial corps members.