Corps members reassured of increase in allowance

SERVING Corps members in the country have been reassured that efforts are being made to increase the monthly allowance, even as applauds are heaped on them for service to their fatherland.

The reassurance was given on Tuesday by the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General, Suleiman Zakari Kazaure, during a visit to the 2018 Batch B Corps members deployed to Bauchi State at the NYSC Permanent orientation camp at Wailo in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of the state.

According to him, the increment will come as soon as the new national minimum wage in the country is approved and implemented.

The Director-General, who was represented by the Director, General Duties of the Corps Director, Alhaji Habib Kurawa, commended corps members over the years for the services they have been rendering to the country.

Zakari Kazaure noted that corps members have done a lot in the country, especially in the area of education where they have been teaching children in the public schools which he said is one of the reasons why all efforts are being put in place to ensure that the corp members’ allowance is increased.

He further said that United Nations and others countries appreciate the roles of NYSC members in their various places of primary assignments and added that Corps members will be engaged by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the forthcoming 2019 general election.

In view of this, Zakari Kazaure warned them not to be involved in any electoral malpractices, including ballot box snatching, among others, saying that, “be a good ambassador of the scheme when the time comes.”

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The Director-General urged them not to be partisan while on electoral duty during the time of election and called on them to encourage peace and unity in whatever they do, adding that they should justify their parents’ investment in them by being honest, upright and just always.

General Kazaure then called on corps members to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the Bank of Industry (BoI) and other banks to wisely secure loans and use same for their entrepreneurship development advising them further that, “good planning, hard-working, dedication, patience are to keys to success.”

Earlier, the state NYSC Coordinator, Afolayan James, explained that at the close of registration, a total of 2,044 corps members comprising 1,186 males and 858 females were registered in the state for the Batch ‘B’.

He informed that officials of the Bauchi State government visited the camp to see the damages caused by the recent rain storm in the state and promised to repair the camp.

Afolayan James also said that the corps members have received part of their allowances, assuring that they will be given the remaining before leaving the camp.

“The management of the Scheme on its part has put in place an arrangement for their training so that they can perform optimally during the service year,” he added.

He concluded that “To this end, experts and professionals have been assembled to train and equip them with necessary sundry knowledge and skills they require for effective service delivery during the service year.”