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NYSC Promises To Sustain Enforcement of COVID-19: Protocols, Warns Against Complacency
NYSC Promises To Sustain Enforcement of COVID-19: Protocols, Warns Against Complacency
Joel Ajayi
The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim has pledged the commitment of the Scheme towards the sustenance of strict enforcement of COVID-19 preventive and safety Protocols in order to guarantee seamless and smooth Orientation Course and Service Year.
The Director-General who was speaking on Friday during a WEBINAR session on COVID-19 measures for safe orientation camp jointly organised by the NCDC/NYSC, and supported by World Health Organisation (WHO), further warned against complacency by the Prospective Corps Members and other members of the camp community, noting that camp courts have been empowered to try and met out appropriate disciplinary measures to violators of the safety protocols.
General Ibrahim stated that NYSC is in partnership with relevant health organisations in the provision of COVID-19 vaccines and urged Prospective Corps Members to avail themselves of the opportunity to be vaccinated during and after the NYSC Orientation Course.
While congratulating Prospective Corps Members for their successful graduation from various academic institutions which qualified them to be called up for national service, the Director General implored them to justify the huge investments of their parents and the Federal Government by making good use of the abundant opportunities for leadership training and self-reliance availed by the Scheme.
The NYSC helmsman reiterated the need for Prospective Corps Members to be security conscious and avoid night journeys, stressing the need to reach out to NYSC Secretariats, military and police formations, as well as other security agencies for shelter in a situation where their journeys extend beyond 6pm.
He also enjoined them to desist from negative use of the social media by ensuring that they always verify all information about the Scheme through the NYSC social media platforms. This according to the Director-General would mitigate the increasing spread of fake news with its negative consequences.
In his address, the Director-General Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu appreciated the NYSC for sustaining a robust partnership with the NCDC which has succeeded in strengthening adherence to COVID-19 preventive and safety protocols in the country.
He also observed that the COVID-19 pandemic has made large congregational setting unsafe and commended NYSC for the incredible sacrifice which made the sustenance of the invaluable programme possible in the new normal. Dr. Chikwe called on Prospective Corps Members to prepare for more sacrifices in order to enhance the success of the forthcoming Orientation Course, noting that the WEBINAR is to familiarise them with COVID-19 global protocols put in place for effective management of the pandemic.
In their separate contributions, Dr. Oyeladun Okunromade and Tunde Disu of NCDC dwelt on the online COVID-19 registration processes for Prospective Corps Members, staggered registration in the Camps, the need to strictly adhere to non-pharmaceutical protocols such as constant hand wash, use of facemasks, social distancing and the need to take responsibility in facilitating a COVID-19 free environment in the Camp.
Also sharing his first hand experience in the Camp, a Batch “A” Corps Member; Peter Oludamilare commended NYSC Authority for making adequate arrangements for Corps Members to participate actively in all Camp activities while observing COVID-19 preventive and safety protocols, and called on Prospective Corps Members nationwide to key in and take responsibility.
The 2021 Batch “B” Stream II Orientation Course is scheduled to commence on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 across 37 Orientation Camps nationwide and would last for three weeks.
Adenike Adeyemi (Mrs)
Director, Press and Public Relations
Featured
Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold
Joel Ajayi
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.
The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.
Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.
According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.
“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.
“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”
The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.
Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.
“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.
Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.
Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.
He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.
Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.
He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.
To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.
In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization
Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.
Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.
“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.
In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee
is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.
The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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