The National Youth Service Corps has launched its North-Central Skill Acquisition Centre in Nasarawa State, primarily designed to boost Internally Generated Revenue for the state.
The inauguration which unfolded in Nasarawa on Monday included certain skill areas including garment factories, bakeries and water facilities, located in Keffi, Nasarawa state.
The garment factory is equipped with over 100 industrial sewing machines and other machinery needed for the production of high-quality kits to be supplied for use by corps members.
Delivering his inaugural speech, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule thanked the Director-General of the NYSC, Major General Shuaibu Ibrahim for redefining and reinvigorating the NYSC as a whole.
According to him, the corps members should strive to not only acquire a degree but also a skill set.
Gov. Sule said, “You have done wonderfully well. I have attended several of your events, one of which was the opportunity to visit the NYSC museum that you have established and without mincing words, just like the Emir of Lafia has mentioned, it doesn’t matter how many years NYSC continues to remain.
“You came in and redefined NYSC; you set up a museum, set up acquisition centres all across the country and today, you have been able to actually have the NYSC now generating revenue and returning the revenue to the Federal Government for the first time in the history of the NYSC so you have indeed redefined this,” he noted.
“The people who are coming in order to acquire the skills are likely going to get jobs or work just next door right here. The unity we’re talking about that our founding fathers had in mind – and this is the dream we all continue to carry,” Sule added.
NYSC boss, Ibrahim, said the inauguration of the new factories had shown the commitment of the scheme to expanding its revenue generation platforms.
“They will also serve as additional training avenues for corps members’ enrollment for relevant vocational skills under the SAED programme. This complex is also unique in the sense that it has the highest number of NYSC factories located in the same place,” he observed.
He said the NYSC was also in talks with the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, on a proposed partnership, whereby the entrepreneurship unit of the institution would use the facility to impart entrepreneurial skills to both the corps members and interested youths of the Keffi community.
“I am also pleased to inform this gathering that our sustained focus on revamping the NYSC ventures is bearing impressive results as over one billion naira generated through these sources was paid into the Federal Government coffers from the year 2020 to 2021.
“This is the first time the NYSC is remitting revenue to the Federal Government – an achievement that has earned us commendations from the higher authorities, including the National Assembly,” he said.
A former Governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, thanked the DG for making sure the impact of the initiative had been properly captured.
He emphasized the need to train youths to be self-sufficient, saying that government alone could not give job to everyone.
The event was attended by former Chiefs of Army Staff, Lieutenant-Generals AB Danbazau (retd.) and Tukur Buratai (retd.), amongst other dignitaries.
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