No fewer than six members of the National Youth Service Corps that served in Nasarawa State are to repeat their service year for allegedly absconding from their various places of Primary Assignment in the state.

The Corps also extended the service of 10 of the 2,086 outgoing corps members of 2017 batch A, stream I in Osun State for committing various offences.

The Nasarawa State coordinator of the NYSC, Mrs. Zainab Isah, disclosed the decision on the occasion of the passing out parade of 2017 batch ‘A’ stream 1 corps members held on Thursday at Lafia Square.

She further revealed that the agency lost three corps members — two males and a female — during the service year under review.

According to her, “A total of 2,049 corps members passed out after a successful service year in the state. This comprise 961 males and 1,097 females. ”

The state coordinator noted that the batch ‘A’ corps members have done very well, hence they would be leaving behind an indelible footprint.

“They have executed projects that are beneficial to their host communities, interacted and enjoyed their stay in Nasarawa State,” she added.

Isah, however, appealed to the Nasarawa State Government to pay the outstanding stipends being owed the outgoing corps members.

In response, the state governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, who was represented by the secretary to the state government, Barrister Muhammed Abdullahi, assured the management of the NYSC in the state of government’s readiness to remit the outstanding stipends owed the corps members.

He said, “We assured the management of the NYSC in the state that government will remit the outstanding stipends being owed the outgoing corps members.”

In the same vein, the National Youth Service Corps in Osun State has extended the service of 10 of the 2,086 outgoing corps members of 2017 batch A, stream 1 for committing various offences.

The NYSC Coordinator in the state, Mr. Emmanuel Attah, made this known on Thursday during the passing out ceremony of corps members at the permanent orientation camp in Ede.

Attah said the corps members breached the rules guiding the service year and they would serve varying degrees of punishment.

He said the punishment would range from extension of service to re-mobilisation in accordance with the by-laws of the scheme and gravity of their offences.

The coordinator, however, implored them to be committed to a lifelong service of rebuilding Nigeria as well as making use of their skills, intellect and development to better the lives of people around them.

The state governor, Rauf Aregbesola, in his farewell address, urged the corps members to be self-reliant and not to wait for white collar jobs.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Grace Laoye-Tomori, also charged them to arm themselves with skills gained in the course of the service year as they step into the larger society.

(NAN)

PUNCH