Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to supporting the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) by rehabilitating and expanding the permanent orientation camp in the state.
Governor Zulum gave the pledge while receiving the Director General of NYSC, Brigadier General Yusha’u Ahmed and his management team during a courtesy visit at the Government House in Maiduguri on Friday.
The Borno NYSC Orientation Camp resumed in 2023 after a 12-year suspension due to the Boko Haram insurgency, and the camp is currently holding at the Umar Mustapha Elkanemi Arabic School as a temporary site.
Governor Zulum assured that the state government would increase its support to the scheme and fast-track the construction of a permanent site to accommodate more corps members.
“The Deputy Chief of Staff and Chairman of NYSC governing board, let’s see how we commence the construction of the permanent site and expand accommodation. Currently, the scheme is operating within a school and soon the school management may need the space back. The earlier we start, the better,” Governor Zulum stated.
The governor commended the invaluable contributions of medical corps members in the state and emphasised the need for graduates in science-related fields, including physics, Mathematics and English to help strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in secondary schools.
He also expressed gratitude to the NYSC leadership for facilitating the return of the orientation camp to Borno State, noting that this has significantly reduced the hardship faced by corps members who previously had to travel to other states for their orientation.
The Director General of NYSC said his visit was aimed at assessing the welfare and orientation camp facilities for corps members in Borno and other North-East states.
He lauded the Borno State Government for its unwavering support of the scheme.
“I must say that corps members are in good hands. The support they are receiving in Borno has been tremendous. This visit is an opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to His Excellency for his immense contributions, including the special allowances for medical and other corps members, regular feeding augmentation, and the provision of Hilux vehicles to the state coordination office,” Brig.-Gen. Ahmed stated.
He urged corps members to reciprocate the state government’s continuous support by remaining in Borno and contribute to the development of the state.
NYSC State Coordinator, Alhaji Mohammed Jiya informed the Governor that a total of 991 corps members from 2024 Batch C Stream 2 are currently undergoing orientation in the state.