The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has warned that it would apply appropriate sanctions against corps employers and others found to be aiding and abetting absenteeism and abscondment of corps members from service.
The Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, said this on Thursday, at the 2021 NYSC/Corps Employers Workshop in Umuahia, Abia.
The Director-General, who was represented by Mrs Favour Udonte, Deputy Director, South-East Area Office, Enugu, said the practice is one of the observed shortcomings of corps employers.
He said the management had increased the regularity of its inspection of corps members at their places of Primary Assignments(PPA) with abseentees duly sanctioned.
Ibrahim reminded employers that they had no authority to approve leave or movement of corps members outside their states of deployment.
He appealed to all corps employers, especially government establishments, to make adequate provisions for the welfare of corps members rather than rejecting them.
In a lecture, Mr Emeka Idika, Registrar Gregory University, Uturu, Abia, urged corps employers to encourage corps members to seek career employment all over the country.
According to Idika, who spoke on the “Role of Stakeholders in the Challenges of Corps Administration,” such gesture would promote free movement of labour.
Another speaker, Chief Hyginus Ukwu, Coordinator of Nigerian Institute of Management/NYSC Abia, called on corps employers to take welfare of corps members as a priority.
Welcoming participants, Mr Denis Dingi, NYSC State Coordinator, Abia said the workshop sought to arm the scheme’s stakeholders and corps employers with the creative potentials of corps members.
He said the workshop is an annual event but could not hold in 2020, due to the prevalent COVID-19 pandemic with its attendant lockdown which affected the operations of the scheme.
Declaring the workshop open, Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu, who was represented by his Commissioner for Youth Development, Chief Charles Esonu, assured the scheme of his administration’s continuous support.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of this year’s workshop is “Optimizing the NYSC/Corps Employers Participation for National Development in the Context of the New Normal.” (NAN).
