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We Didn’t Abandon Any Corps Members In COVID-19 Isolation Centre-NYSC

Published

6 years ago

December 31, 2020

JOEL AJAYI

The management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) said the scheme did not, in any way, abandon either the Corps Members or Prospective Corps Members earlier quarantined in Isolation Centres, for testing positive to COVID-19.

The Director, Press and Public Relations of the scheme, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to the statement, the attention of NYSC Management has been drawn to the above report circulating on social media.

“Management wishes to state emphatically that the story is inaccurate, and does not in any way represent the true position of things concerning either the Corps Members in reference, or Prospective Corps Members earlier quarantined in other Isolation Centres for testing positive to COVID-19.

“To put the issues raised in proper perspective, some Corps Members of the 2020 Batch “A” deployed to Jigawa State, who had to return to the Orientation Camp to conclude the Orientation programme earlier truncated in March this year, arising from the Coronavirus pandemic tested positive to the dreaded virus upon being tested at the camp.

“It is pertinent to state that before admission into any NYSC camp, both the Prospective Corps Members and Corps Members as the case may be; and Camp officials must undergo COVID-19 test”.

“Those that tested negative were allowed into the camps, while cases of those that tested positive are handled by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)”.

“The Jigawa Corps Members that tested positive to the virus were taken into the State’s Isolation Centre for treatment and care.

“It is important to disclose that the NYSC Jigawa Secretariat, Jigawa State Government and NCDC have been in constant touch with the Corps Members on their welfare and care.

“However, there have been agitations from some of them that want to leave the Isolation Centre to reunite with their families because of the festivities but were turned down until they are certified okay by the NCDC.

“The Management appeals to the concerned to be patient as all that the NCDC is doing is for their interest and that of other Nigerians.

“For the promotion of balanced and fair reportage, Management wishes to appeal to the media which it holds in very high esteem as invaluable partners to always cross check issues of this nature with NYSC Management, Jigawa State Government and the NCDC.”

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

4 hours ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

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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