The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC ), Brig.-Gen. Shu’aibu Ibrahim, says it plans to partner with the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria (AGN ) on talent hunt and movie production.
The plan was disclosed by Ibrahim on Wednesday when he played host to the President of the Guild, Mr Emeka Rollas, in his office in Abuja.
In a statement signed by Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, Director, Press and Public Relations Unit, NYSC, in Abuja on Wednesday, Ibrahim expression appreciation over the visit.
He said the NYSC has since its establishment in 1973 availed youth corps members the opportunity for gainful careers in the entertainment industry.
“This is through its various programmes and activities. One of such programmes according to him is the sports and cultural festivals which are organised by the scheme annually.
“In line with the scheme’s desire to consolidate on the gains of the cultural festivals, the NYSC Cultural Troupe was established in 2020 whereby the talents identified during the festivals were harnessed and brought together to form the troupe.
“The cultural troupe, apart from projecting the positive image of the scheme, would also serve as an avenue for revenue generation for the scheme,” the statement quoted the NYSC boss as saying.
He called on the Actors’ Guild to partner with the NYSC identifying corps members with potential in acting, directing, script writing and other aspects of film production.
“When fully on board, the collaboration will entail a selection process at the various NYSC Orientation camps and would culminate into a grand finale, where the best would be chosen and integrated into the Actors’ Guild in Nigeria,” Ibrahim, added.
Earlier, Rollas stated that he was in the NYSC Secretariat to review a movie produced by the corps entitled ‘A Call to Service’ which featured prominent Nollywood actors.
He said he was there to also explore other avenues for collaboration with the corps.
He commended the Director-General for the novel idea and assured him of the willingness of the Actors’ Guild to partner with the corps in the talent hunt and production of movies which will help to project the positive image of the country.