FROM: LarryBravo Nwaiwu, Enugu

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has commended Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State over his intervention at the dilapidated NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Awgu Local Government Area of the state. The body observed that since the assumption of office by the governor, the camp had witnessed massive renovation and revamption of moribund facilities.

The governor, who inspected both completed and ongoing projects in the camp, promised to do more in order to continue to improve on the welfare of both officials of the NYSC and the corps members posted to serve in the state.

Also speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2024 Batch ‘A’ Stream 1 of 1,503 corps members, the NYSC Coordinator in Enugu State, Mrs. Christiana Salmwang expressed the gratitude of the corps for the various interventions 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.

“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 further lauded the Chairman of the NYSC Governing Board in the state who also doubles as the state’s Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu, for the keen interest and support he has shown over the training and development of the corps members at the orientation camp.

The State Coordinator noted that the 1,503 corps members comprising 764 males and 739 females were undergoing leadership training, para-military drills and self-defense training in addition to the various vocational and entrepreneurship instructions such as the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) to help them attain self-development and economic independence.

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 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 welcomed the corps members to the state, assured of their welfare and safety throughout the duration of their service, stressing that the call to serve their fatherland was a positive response by them.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Professor Chidibere Onyia, 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 innovations introduced 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 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 noted.