Taraba state governor, Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku, has commended the contributions of corps members to the development of the state, especially in the area of education, and advocated two years for the national service.
In a statement made available to Blueprint Tuesday by the Director-General of NYSC, Brig-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, Darius made the remarks when he received him in Government House in Jalingo.
The governor said under his administration students’ success in the Senior School Certificate Examinations improved from thirty per cent to over eighty per cent due to corps members’ contribution to the teaching profession.
The governor indicated his administration’s interest in the proposal made by the Director-General of NYSC, Brig-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, on the operation of mobile clinics by the NYSC Medical Teams, and promised further discussion with the State Ministry of Health.
The governor, who reminisced on his experience as a corps member in Imo state, southeast Nigeria, years ago, noted the role of the scheme in the promotion of national unity. He therefore, advocated an increase in NYSC service period to two years for greater impact.
He said, “The first year should be wholly dedicated to military training while the second would be for primary assignment and other programmes of the scheme.”
He opined that the arrangement would ensure more discipline and greater sense of patriotism among the youths.
The governor expressed gratitude to federal government for awarding the contract for ecological project at the NYSC orientation camp, Jalingo.Earlier, Brigadier-General Ibrahim had described the Taraba orientation camp as one of the best in the country, but added that some parts of the facilities needed renovation.
He thanked the state government for its intervention in the wake of the vandalisation of the camp facilities by hoodlums, especially through replacement and repair of some of the stolen and damaged items.
Ibrahim told his host that corps members had enormous potentials and would contribute more to the development of the state if provided with the enabling environment.
The DG proposed the setting up of mobile clinics with the support of the state government to enable Corps Medical Teams make deeper penetration of the rural areas.
He said apart from the provision of medical services to the communities, the arrangement would also serve as avenue for the gathering of health data for the government.
Ibrahim used the occasion of the visit to “thank the Federal Government for appointing NYSC to the Technical Working Group on the Mambilla Power Project”, noting that the mandate of the committee was to source local manpower for the project.
“Corps members would be among those that would be engaged as they are skilled in various aspects,” he said.
