Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar has urged corps members to uphold the tenets of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) of uniting the nation.
He said the NYSC has fulfilled its objective through nation building and uniting the nation. Owing to this, he urged stakeholders of the scheme to sustain it.
Sultan Abubakar stated this during an interactive session with the 2024 Batch A stream 2 corps members posted to Sokoto State.
He enjoined them to continue to engage on nation-building initiatives and to always promote cultural and religious harmony among Nigerians.
The monarch also urged government and wealthy individuals to assist graduates with capital to set up businesses after their service year.
He said such assistance would reduce poverty by providing employment opportunities as well as discourage youths from getting involved in criminal activities.
Abubakar emphasised the need for Nigerians to utilise the advantages of the NYSC scheme to promote cultural and religious understanding, as well as harmonious relationship at all levels.
He implored corps members to interact with their host communities freely and work towards activities that would be meaningful to national development.
He said the palace was pleased to welcome all corps members deployed to the state and offer them words of advice for better service delivery.
“I am assuring you that your safety will be guaranteed throughout your service period; we have already implored district heads to take care of you,” Abubakar said.
He also urged the corps members to perform their duties with diligence and be guided by the provisions of the NYSC law as well as the laws of the areas they are posted to serve.
He noted that there was no discrimination between indigenes and non-indigenes in Sokoto State, stressing that all residents are indigenes as the government pays school fees to every child irrespective of settlers or indigene.
“We refer to those that reside in the state as resident communities,” Sultan added.
Earlier, the NYSC coordinator in the state, Alhaji Usman Yakubu-Yaro, said corps members comprising male and female, were posted to Sokoto State from 36 states of the Federation and FCT.
He thanked the Sultan for his unflinching support to the scheme, especially presenting meritorious awards to overall two best corps members of every batch posted to the state.
