The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Barrister Nyesom Wike, has called for intensified efforts towards youth empowerment, emphasizing the need to adequately prepare Corps Members for their critical roles in national development.
According to Wike, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has been a pillar of national unity and socio-economic growth for more than 51 years.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Batch ‘C’ Pre-Mobilisation Workshop in Abuja, the Minister’s remarks were delivered by the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud.
Barrister Wike urged workshop participants to critically examine both the challenges and opportunities facing the NYSC and the youth it serves.
“We live in a dynamic world where community needs are rapidly evolving. Therefore, our Prospective Corps Members must be equipped to tackle these challenges with creativity, resilience, and innovation,” Wike stated.
He commended participants for their dedication to training the next generation and preparing them for meaningful contributions to society.
The Minister also appealed to attendees to leverage the workshop to share best practices, develop innovative strategies, and collaborate on methods to enhance the NYSC programme’s overall impact.
He emphasized the importance of creating an environment that nurtures youth potential and fosters their personal and professional growth.
In his welcome address, NYSC Director General Brigadier General YD Ahmed highlighted the critical role of the mobilisation process in ensuring a successful service year.
He stressed that effective service delivery begins with a smooth and transparent mobilisation process and called for active engagement from all participants throughout the workshop.
“The NYSC management is unwavering in its commitment to uphold high standards and ensure integrity, transparency, and compassion in service delivery. The youths rely on us, and we cannot afford to let them down,” Brigadier General Ahmed asserted.
The Director of the Corps Mobilisation Department, Mr. Abubakar Mohammed, in his introductory remarks, underscored the significant strides made in the Scheme’s mobilisation process, attributing the successes to innovative measures and collaborative efforts with stakeholders.
He reaffirmed the NYSC’s commitment to maintaining stringent standards and preventing the enrolment of unqualified individuals for national service.
Themed “Strengthening the NYSC Mobilisation Process for Effective Service Delivery,” the workshop was attended by representatives from Corps Producing Institutions nationwide, heads of deployment and relocation from all 36 state NYSC secretariats and the FCT, and representatives from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC), among others.
![[PHOTOS] Gowon Hails Managers For Sustaining Vision Of NYSC The former head of State and founding father of the National Youth Service Corps, General Yakubu Gowon GCFR, has commended the managers of the Scheme for sustaining the vision that informed the establishment of NYSC. He said the NYSC was greeted with strong opposition from Nigerian students across the country at inception, had not only overcome the initial misgivings but had grown to become a nationally recognised and accepted tool for fostering national unity, integration, development, job creation, and youth empowerment in Nigeria. General Gowon gave this commendation when the newly appointed Director General, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu paid him a courtesy visit at his residence in Asokoro, Abuja. He acknowledged the multi-dimensional contributions of Corps Members to national development in the over 50 years of the Scheme’s existence. He further praised the deployment policy of NYSC, which exposes Corps Members to the various peoples and cultures of Nigeria, by posting them to States and geographical locations other than their own. While congratulating Brigadier General Nafiu on his appointment, Gowon urged him to build on the legacies of his predecessors by propelling the NYSC to greater heights and also wished him well. Brigadier General Nafiu described the initiative of establishing the NYSC in 1973 as a divine project that has been of immense blessing to the country, positively impacting generations of Nigerians. Nafiu who said the visit was to solicit for General Gowon's blessings, expressed appreciation for his fatherly role to the Scheme, and appealed for his continued mentorship. The NYSC was established by the Gowon administration as part of the post-war programmes designed to reconcile, reconstruct, and rehabilitate Nigeria after a bitter 30-month long civil war that had ravaged the country. Caroline Embu Acting Director Information and Public Relations](https://newsbulletin.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG-20250325-WA0021-300x214.jpg)
