COVID-19: Corps members to resume orientation when coast is clear – NYSC DG

Brig.-Gen. Shuaib Ibrahim, the Director-General (DG), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has said that the Batch ‘A’ corps members will resume orientation camp as soon as the coast is clear over Covid-19.

Shuaib told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja that the corps members must be safeguarded first.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NYSC had shut the orientation camps nationwide, sequel to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

He said the management of NYSC decided to suspend the orientation camps against batch ‘A’ corps members across the country to curtail the spread of Coronavirus.

The director-general said that it was the same method the scheme employed during the Ebola epidemic which also threatened the health of the nation.

Shuaib further said that the scheme had closed orientation camps across the country to safeguard the corps members.

He stated that once the coast was cleared on Covid 19 pandemic, had been properly tackled, and there was signal on the safety of the Batch ‘A’ corps members the camp would reopen.

“Once we have a clear picture that Covid 19 has been tamed and we are okay then we will invite the corps members back to camp to complete their orientation training.

“That is the decision we have taken; it is just for the concern for the welfare of the corps members,” he said.

He said that the NYSC had also keyed into the postponement of the National Sports Festival, billed to begin on March 22 in order to safeguard the corps members.

NAN reports that the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, had earlier said that the NYSC orientation and the National Sports Festival had been cancelled.

This according to the Minister is to forestall the spread of Covid 19. (NAN)