Corps members and staff of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the 2020 Batch “B” orientation exercise are to undergo COVID-19 test before being part of the programme.
The NYSC Director-General, Brig-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, disclosed this on Thursday in Jos at the opening of the NYSC 2020 Batch “B” pre-orientation workshop.
The workshop is themed: “Evolving a Dynamic Operational Strategy in the Management of Camps in the Context of COVID-19”.
Ibrahim disclosed that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had worked out procedures to ensure that staff and corps members who tested positive for the virus would be adequately taken care of.
According to him, the NYSC management has ensured strict compliance with the NCDC guidelines in the corps’ activities.
“The NYSC has been interfacing with relevant bodies such as the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the various state ministries of health on ways of ensuring safe and efficient conduct of the orientation exercise.
“All orientation camps have been prepared and remodelled in line with the approved safety protocols,” Ibrahim said.
He commended the NCDC for donating of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth millions of Naira for use at orientation camps.
He explained that the aim and objective of the pre-orientation workshop was to appraise the conduct of the previous orientation courses and to fashion out ways to improve on their performance.
He commended Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau for donating a 14-seater bus to the NYSC in the state and for the government’s unflinching support to the scheme in the area.
Lalong, who declared the four-day workshop opened, commended the NYSC management for its active support to the government in the fight against the pandemic, as the NYSC orientation camp in Mangu was used as a quarantine and an isolation centre in the state.
He appealed to the NYSC management and corps members to avoid laxity in the observation of COVID-19 safety protocols, as the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 have warned of the likelihood of resurgence and a second wave of the pandemic.
He said that the state remained the leading state in testing for the disease, and that corps members who were posted to the state would be availed such service.
The governor also disclosed that the State Government would work with the NYSC to enhance the safety and comfort of corps members posted to the state.
He called on the NYSC to include in its orientation course, the issue of social media usage and responsibility.
He further urged the NYSC to sustain building the spirit of entrepreneurship among the youths throughout their service year as a means of making them self-reliant and innovative.
Lalong assured the director-general of the state government’s unflinching support to the scheme in the state.
Participants at the workshop comprise NYSC state coordinators and camp commanders, among others, and were drawn from the 36 states of the federation.
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