Reps applaud NYSC vocational skills centre initiative, rehabilitation of vandalised facilities

The House of Representatives, on Monday, showered encomium on the authorities of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over its speedy response towards fixing the facilities vandalised by hoodlums at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Orientation Camp, Abuja.

Chairman, House Committee on Youth Development, Hon Yemi Adaramodu, who gave the commendation during the oversight function to the vandalised facilities at the FCT orientation camp located at Kubwa, Bwari Area Council, Abuja, tasked the FCT Administration on the need to

He said: “Initially we came here to come and look and evaluate the level of damage that has been done by the hoodlums that came here recently. So when we got here we saw by ourselves the damages and we saw the recovery level done by the NYSC authorities and we are very impressed.

“The Coordinator took us around and we commended the NYSC and the Director-General and the Coordinator for FCT for what they have been able to put together within a very short while that they experience the vandalisation and cannibalisation of the camp.

“More than that, we were very amazed that despite the fact that those things happened negatively to the camp in FCT at Kubwa, the corps members here within the past weeks with what they have learnt, with what they have done with their hands and brains on the vocational training, we are quite impressed. This shows that Nigerian Youths are ready to go places; Nigerian Youths only need to be encouraged and mentored.

“I know that this is replicated all over Nigeria especially those finished products that they have put up. In fact, there’s no difference with the ones they called imported and the ones that have been in the market for long years back with the ones that they just produced newly on the camp here.

“We’ve even encouraged them that even when they leave the camp and get to their primary place of assignment, they should keep on doing what they are doing here and after finishing their service, they should key into it.

“We were amazed further that corps members who have just passed out are part of those who are tutoring the new corps members, meaning they have already keyed into it and imbibed the vocation and they are doing very well,” Hon Adaramodu said.

He also urged the Corps members to take advantage of other opportunities provided by Federal Government aimed at supporting Nigerian Youths including agro-allied entrepreneurship, noting that the “corridors are there to key into, and we can assist and encourage them to do these things in large scale. And then we are going to lead them into those corridors.

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While noting that most state governments are currently facing the similar challenge of relocation to permanent sites, he expressed optimism that the FCT administration will deploy necessary resources towards the completion of the Permanent Orientation Camp, just as he harped on the need to support the ongoing renovation of the temporary orientation camp.

On her part, NYSC FCT Coordinator, Hajia Walida Siddique Isa, who frowned at the invasion of the orientation camp by some hoodlums, observed that the NYSC authorities have been able to fix the vandalised facilities.

While speaking on the successes recorded on the vocational training which commenced in 2012, Hajia Isa said: The NYSC decided that it’s not just enough to camp corps members without teaching them skills because you and I know that the white-collar jobs are no longer available.

“So we said let us create a forum whereby the corp members will learn skills so that before they are able to get those jobs they will have something at hand to be able to feed themselves, take care of the families and then at the end of it all, to the larger society, they will become employers of labour; and you have seen that it has been a success because so many of our corps members have keyed into it and they are learning.”

She also beckoned on Federal and State Governments to assist through provision of skill centres where all the various skills are provided, noting that there is need to provide enabling environment for the Corps members to acquire various vocational skills, adding that: when we have a full centre it will be able to help them move on, it will be able to help them have the right equipment to learn these skills.”

Hajia Isa also expressed the NYSC authorities readiness to commence the next orientation camp for the 2020 Batch B Stream 1b in December and we are very much prepared even before now and now that we have started, we automatically move to the next scheme.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE