The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Suleiman Kazaure, has debunked speculations of an increase in corps members’ monthly allowance, adding that an increment would only be done when there is a corresponding review of the proposed N30,000 national minimum wage.
The NYSC boss, who spoke to newsmen at MD Yusuf NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Mani road, Katsina on Monday during his visit to the camp, assured corps members that the increment might be feasible in the future, adding that the lingering speculations were unfounded because the NYSC scheme is an affiliate of the public service.
He said: “You know that NYSC is part of federal government parastatal, so we are still waiting for this minimum wage. I am sure when it is approved, it will definitely affect NYSC members.”
Speaking on the safety of corps members during the 2019 elections, Kazaure said the NYSC under his watch was working closely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to ensure that the lives and property of NYSC members are protected during and after the general election.
Gen. Kazaure admonished the corps members to shun drug abuse, night party and other malpractices capable of truncating their future, stressing that they should remain neutral in the course of their national assignment in elections.
According to him, “The management of NYSC frowns on the frequent travelling of corps members. Avoid night party, indecent dressing and be security conscious during your stay in the camp and your places of community assignment. You are going to be part of the 2019 general election, try and be neutral and obey the rules of the election.”
The Sokoto State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, represented by his Special Adviser on Youths Development, Ibrahim Khali Aminu, urged the corps members to shun cultism, politics as well as religious intolerance and other forms of anti-social behaviour.
Earlier, the state NYSC Coordinator, Hajiya Ramatu Sanda, lamented what she described as inadequate staff and hostel accommodation, calling on the NYSC management and the state government to assist the scheme in the state in order to assuage its plight.
She however said 1,507 corps members have been registered for the 2018 Batch ‘C’ stream II three-week orientation course in the state, stressing that the orientation programme is meant to acquaint them with relevant skill acquisitions that would make them self-reliant and contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.