From WOLE BALOGUN, Ado-Ekiti
New corps members have been advised to utilize the abundant
agricultural resources available in Ekiti State to become
self-reliant and job creators rather than job seekers.
Governor Kayode Fayemi said his administration placed premium on youth
development and would continue to accord needed support to programmes
that would curb the menace of unemployment in the state.
Fayemi spoke while officially declaring open the 2019 Batch C, Stream
1, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Course at the
Permanent Orientation Camp in Ise/Orun/Emure on Thursday.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, Fayemi
expressed the readiness of his administration to partner interested
corps members in agricultural and rural development programmes in the
State.
According to a statement signed by the Special Assistant (Media) to
the Deputy Governor, Odunayo Ogunmola, a total number 1,851 corps
members took the oath of allegiance at the opening ceremony of their
orientation course at the camp.
Fayemi encouraged the corps members to take advantage of the agrarian
nature of the state by venturing into livestock and food crops farming
to fight the scourge of unemployment.
Describing the NYSC scheme as a veritable tool for mobilizing youths
towards national development and reorientation, Fayemi, charged the
corps members to prioritise commitment, patriotism and unity of the
country above personal interest.
He said: “The unity of this great country is sacrosanct, you must
uphold the integration of Nigeria at all cost.
“This was the mission and vision of the founding fathers of this
scheme in 1973 under the leadership of the then Head of State, General
Yakubu Gowon.”
The Governor solicited for their steadfastness in rendering
outstanding services that would meet the specific needs of their host
communities which was in tandem with the objectives and doctrines of
NYSC scheme.
Fayemi acknowledged the contribution of NYSC in national assignments
and in the development of rural areas through community development
projects and health initiatives, for rural dwellers across the nation.
While assuring the corps members of his resolute to create an enabling
environment for them to function maximally, the Governor urged them to
support his administration in its efforts at restoring the core values
of diligence, honesty, hard work, perseverance, selflessness and
humility.
Ekiti State Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, who was represented
by Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi, had earlier administered the oath of
allegiance on the new corps members present at the parade ground.
The state NYSC Coordinator, Mrs. Emmanuella Okpongete, charged the new
corps members to utilize the various skill acquisition and
entrepreneurship trainings they would undergo during the orientation
course.
Okpongete charged the corps members to be good ambassadors of their
families and alma maters by shunning vices that could bring them to
disrepute.
The opening ceremony was spiced with the presentation of cultural
dance, songs rendered in Ekiti dialect and “Tug of War” by the new
corps members.
