The Ondo State National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, Coordinator, Mrs. Grace Akpabio, has said that given the opportunity, the corps members are capable of ruling the world.
Akpabio made the declaration during the presentation of awards at the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Inter-Platoon Competition.
The competition which is part of the exhibition/closing ceremony of the SAED activities for the 2019 Batch ‘A’ orientation course had all platoons competing for honours.
Speaking at the event, Mrs. Akpabio said that NYSC had invested massively in the programme meant to give corps members new lease of life during and after the service year.
“The distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, NYSC in the last seven years has been in the forefront of making the serving corps members budding entrepreneurs and captains of small and medium scale industries.
“The NYSC Management in collaboration with several empowerment agencies and financial institutions train these Nigerians, empower them and give them credit facilities on a single digit interest rate to discover their innate talents.”
She said in the past eleven days, capable, tested and highly mobile trainers and facilitators had been taking the keenly interested corps members through various skills and vocation which would have cost them fortunes to learn if not for the NYSC scheme.
The NYSC boss admonished the corps members not to let the dream they had started at the camp to die but rather they should continue with post camp training to become established professionals in their chosen skills or vocation.
In her Goodwill message, the Camp Director, Mrs. Itohan Ehimwenma, appealed to the corps members to sacrifice their time and resources to enhance their status.
Mrs. Ehimwenma said that the testimonies of the serving and ex-corps members should be enough basis for them to key into the programme which had capacity to reduce to the barest minimum the pervading poverty in the land.
The sponsors of the event, a multinational company, Unilever Nigerian Plc., said that it would continue to support the yearnings and aspirations of the NYSC towards permanent eradication of poverty in the country.
The company, represented by the Field Sales Manager, Mr. Alaba Akinkuolie, said that collaboration with NYSC was geared towards empowerment of the members of the service corps.
In her opening remarks, the Head of SAED on camp, Mrs. Olubunmi Ayodele, thanked all the stakeholders who had remained steadfast with the programme.
Mrs. Ayodele encouraged the corps members not to discard the training they had at the camp but strive to break new grounds in the course of the service year.
All the platoons presented contestants in the following categories – cake baking and craft, fashion designing, make-over and gele tying.
The winners in the various categories were presented with prizes and certificates for their painstaking efforts and sacrifice.
The ceremony marked the grand finale of eleven days intensive hands on training which they began on April 1, 2019.
