The National Youth Service Corps in Sokoto State has extended the service year of no fewer than 16 members over various acts of misconduct.
Alhaji Usman Yaro, the scheme’s State Coordinator, revealed this on Friday at the 2024 Batch C, Stream 2 corps members’ passing-out event in Sokoto.
Yaro emphasized that the program has zero-tolerance policy for truancy and indiscipline and also stated that the affected corps members were sanctioned for offenses ranging from chronic absenteeism and absconding to various infractions of NYSC regulations.
He said, “Discipline remains a core value of the NYSC, while sanctions are necessary to maintain the integrity of the scheme and ensure corps members comply with laid-down regulations.
“In this regard, no fewer than 16 corpers will be punished for extension of service year due to various offenses committed while undergoing their service year.”
Additionally, he declared that two corps members had been honored with the Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar Award for their outstanding efforts to raise the standard of living of their host towns.
The coordinator lauded Governor Ahmed Aliyu for his unwavering support for the scheme, particularly his dedication to the continuous payment of state allowances to corps members.
“I also seize this opportunity to appreciate the Sultan of Sokoto for his unflinching support for the scheme, which clearly demonstrates his love for Nigerian youths and the NYSC in particular,” Yaro said.
He clarified that corps members were purposefully assigned to rural areas in accordance with the program’s goal of fostering grassroots development and the current administration’s development plan.
Yaro added that thousands of people throughout the state had benefited from their various medical outreach programs, noting that the majority of corps medical personnel were sent to rural areas to help fill manpower deficits in the health sector.
He also revealed that as part of NYSC’s dedication to bolstering the education sector in Sokoto State, a sizable number of corps members were assigned to schools.
The coordinator further mentioned that corps members had received training and support on business development plans and entrepreneurship from the Bank of Industry and other partner organizations.
After their service year, he advised the outgoing corps members to continue being excellent representatives of the NYSC and to make good use of the skills they had learned via the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development program.
