The National Youth Service Corp has reacted to a news reports were corp members expressed dissatisfaction with the soaring food prices in the Mammy market.
The report alleged that a camp coordinator suggested that the Corp members exit the camp if they couldn’t cope with the surge in food prices.
Reacting in a statement on Saturday, the NYSC described the report as untrue and intended to cause mischief.
The statement read below:
“The attention of NYSC Management has been drawn to the publication with the above headline making the rounds on the social media.
“Management wishes to state that the story is nothing but a tissue of lies, intended to cause mischief, and generate traffic to the social media handles of the purveyors.
“It is very laughable, absurd and unfortunate to allege that a State Coordinator addressed Corps Members, encouraging them to leave the Orientation Camp, because of food shortage.
“Indeed, one with a probing mind will know that the allegation is fallacious, as no State Coordinator of the NYSC, many of whom are of the substantive rank of Deputy Director and have put in over 25 years in Service will utter such careless, very indicting and unintelligent statement.
“For the avoidance of doubt and purposes of information, NYSC Orientation Camps are operated under a framework of checks and balances, built on so many layers.
“In each camp is a Resident Officer posted from the NYSC National Directorate Headquarters, Abuja, to assist the camp managements run a hitch-free Orientation Course. He is resident in the camp for all through the three-week duration of the programme.
“Part of their mandate is to ensure that camp managements comply strictly with the laid down policies and rules concerning feeding of Corps Members, among others.
“Officers of the Scheme of the directorate cadre also visit the camps on monitoring duties. They in turn play oversight functions on the Resident Officers and camp managements.
“It is pertinent to state that the ultimate authority in the day-to-day running of the Scheme, the Director General, Brig Gen YD Ahmed goes round the NYSC Orientation Camps nationwide with his team, each camping season, primarily to see to the welfare of Corps Members.
“It is imperative to emphasise that camp markets are highly regulated, so as to prevent exploitation of Corps Members by the operators. However, the markets are not insulated from the vagaries of inclement economic weather which is of global dimension.
“It is therefore unthinkable and immoral for one to manufacture lies in order to generate traffic for pecuniary benefits, throwing caution to the winds, while mindlessly generating anxiety among the parents and relatives of Corps Members.
“NYSC from the highest echelon of authority to the least runs an open door policy, and will gladly answer enquiries concerning her operations for clarification”.
