The federal government is set to empower a minimum of 5,000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members with N10 million each, as revealed by the Minister of Youth Development, Dr. Jemila Ibrahim, in Paiko town of Niger State yesterday.
The minister also announced the forthcoming launch of a National Youth Skills Programme aimed at training one million young Nigerians in various fields, encompassing technology and agriculture.
Ibrahim shared this information during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2024 Batch B, Stream 1 orientation course in Paiko, where she also mentioned that the ministry had commenced receiving applications for the ‘restructured’ Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF). The fund is set to kick off this month, enabling young individuals to access financial support. She encouraged youths nationwide to make use of the NYIF to bring their business ideas to fruition, emphasizing the importance of fully embracing the NYSP to acquire new competencies and cultivate comprehensive skills.
During his speech, Niger State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Bago, unveiled plans by the state government to erect a new permanent orientation camp for the NYSC to replace the current temporary structures in use.
“We aim to establish a state-of-the-art NYSC camp; therefore, today we are allocating N5 billion towards a new NYSC camp and installing five boreholes and lavatories at the temporary camp,” Bago stated. To uplift the spirits of the corps members, the governor announced a bonus of N200,000 for each member of the 2024 Batch B, Stream 1, along with 20 cows and one truck of rice to ensure their comfort.
He urged the corps members to engage in the state’s agricultural revolution program to tackle food shortages, noting that his administration had made substantial investments in agriculture.
In his address, the Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, expressed gratitude to the governor for approving the N5 billion for the construction of a new permanent orientation camp for the NYSC. He welcomed the governor’s announcement of the N200,000 bonus for corps members and encouraged other governors to follow suit in order to motivate the corps members. Ahmed assured the corps members of sufficient security measures, highlighting the collaboration between the scheme and security agencies, and advised the corps members to adhere to security protocols.
Earlier, Mrs. Abdulwahab Olayinka, NYSC state coordinator, mentioned that 100 corps members were serving with Niger Foods as part of the scheme’s contribution to the governor’s green economy initiative. She advised the corps members to engage in the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme (SAED) to acquire skills that would enable them to become self-sufficient.
