Opportunities abound for youth corps members in FCT- Bello

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, has said that corps members posted to the territory have so much to achieve during their one year of national assignment.

The Minister, represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary, FCT, Hajia Amina Abubakar, stated this during the closing ceremony of the NYSC FCT 2017 Batch “A” stream II orientation at the camp in Kubwa.

Malam Musa Bello urged the corps members to take advantage of the different opportunities made available to them during their Youth Service year, adding that the FCT Administration was resolved to take advantage of the natural endowments, human resources and agricultural potentials of the territory in order to position FCT as a major producer of food for local consumption and even export, which is in line with the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme and sees no reason why Corps members should not cash on it.

He explained that the Agricultural Secretariat of the FCTA has registered about 9000 small holder farmers to participate in the programme, adding, “And as corps members, you can cash into it and other initiatives in this sector that are already yielding dividends, such as the increased average annual yield in rice and cassava farming.

Those that studied agriculture and allied courses can introduce new and improved farming methods and techniques to farmers within their host communities of primary assignment. As educated youth leaders, who other youths look up to, you can provide the necessary mentorship that will ignite their interest in agriculture, providing them with employment while swaying them away from unwholesome vices and also sensitising the youths on the need to acquire the least basic education and their parents to see education as a worthy investment that must be accorded priority,” Bello added.

The Minister applauded the consistent efforts of the NYSC in availing the FCT rural populace access to medical care while reiterating that any Corps member who went beyond the call of duty to carry out outstanding projects that impacts positively on the quality of lives of the people of the FCT would be duly recognised just as the administration had appreciated some previous corps members who distinguished themselves in the course of their service in the FCT thereby earning the NYSC FCT Minister’s Honours Award, assuring that others in this category that were pending were not forgotten, “as soon as it is feasible we shall do the same for them”.

Malam Musa Bello also assured the Corps members that the FCT Administration was working round the clock to ensure their safety and that of all other residents while urging them to desist from unnecessary and unauthorised journeys.

Addressing the Corps members, the Coordinator FCT NYSC, Mr. Abdulrazak Abdulsalam Salawu, said: “As you disperse for your various places of primary assignment, bear in mind that you are our ambassadors, you are going out as representatives of the organization that has over four decade of internationally established records of outstanding performance in the areas of national unity, youth empowerment, leadership and socio-economic development as well as nation building.

Salawu urged them to be advocates of peace and development, to impact positively on their host communities as they have been adequately equipped to contribute effectively to the development of the FCT in line with the NYSC guide lines.