The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen.YD Ahmed has urged Corps Members enlisted in the forthcoming general elections to stay neutral and adhere strictly to the guidelines of the Electoral Act in the discharge of their duties.
Ahmed made his position known on Tuesday while presiding over the closing ceremony of the 2023 Batch ‘A” Stream I Orientation Course held at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Boro Town.
He noted that the performance of corps members in previous elections contributed to the credibility of the process which earned the scheme accolades from local and international observers.
Represented by the State Coordinator, NYSC Bayelsa State, Mrs Okpalifo Obiageli Charity, who described the exercise as an important national assignment, also called on the corps members to emulate their predecessors by carrying out their duties diligently.
He assured that the scheme has secured the commitment of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and other security agencies on the welfare and safety of corps members, before, during and after the elections.
Speaking on the essence of the orientation course, the DG, who also witnessed the display of self-defence skills by the corps members, urged them to sustain the lessons learnt such as patriotism, hard work and resilience and contribute their own quota towards the progress and development of the country.
He said “At all times, you should be good ambassadors of the NYSC as well as your families and institutions of graduation. Therefore, you must be wary of acts that can portray the Scheme in a bad light, especially drug abuse and trafficking, cybercrime, advanced-fee-fraud and spreading of fake news, amongst others”.
“Also remember that your membership of the Service Corps does not confer on you immunity from the legal consequences of any wrongdoing. You are, therefore, enjoined to continue to be law-abiding while also serving as role models for the younger ones”.
He encouraged them to build on the skills acquired during the in-camp Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme to empower themselves for self-reliance.
“We will continue to liaise with financial institutions and other stakeholders with a view to providing start-up loans to enable you to actualize your business dreams. I assure you that Management will continue to explore avenues for optimizing the impact of the programme”.