No fewer than 18 out of the 4,034 Batch A, 2015, Corps members who served in Oyo State would repeat their service year due to evasion of service continuously for three months.
Stephen Bankole, NYSC Director of Information in Oyo State, made the disclosure on Thursday in Ibadan in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria. He said that extensions of service were given to no fewer than seven corps members, ranging from one week to four months.
“Extension occurs when a member did not attend his Place of Primary Assignment regularly or has not been signing monthly payment voucher as at when due. “However it is only NYSC headquarters that ratifies cases of abscondment,” he said. Mr. Bankole said that no fewer than 33 corps members who served in the state got married during service year, while 50 went on maternity leave. “We had about 1,753 males and 2,281 females.
“Six received award of exemplary service while 11 received award for execution of projects in their host communities,” he said. He urged the corps members still in service to live exemplary life and be good citizens to avoid falling victim of extension of service or abscondment after their service year. The information officer advised the outgoing corps members to make good use of the entrepreneurial skills they acquired during service to enable them become self employed.
“They should go into the larger society to earn their living honestly and legitimately as good citizens, no shortcuts,” he said. In Sokoto, six Corps members are to repeat the service year for various offences, the NYSC Coordinator in the state, Thomas Yamma, has said. Mr. Yamma said on Thursday in Sokoto at the passing out ceremony of the NYSC batch ” A” corps members deployed to the state, that the action was taken to serve as deterrent to serving corps members. He said that four other corps members have had their service year extended by two months.
“This is a punitive measure taken against the erring corps members for violating the rules and regulations of the corps. “Three other corps members were bestowed with the state’s prestigious merit award, four others got the chairman’s awards, while several others got commendation letters.
” The coordinator commended the state government, Sokoto Sultanate Council, and people of the state in general for their sustained moral and financial support to the corps. In his remark, the Chairman of the State NYSC Governing Board, Muhammad Abubakar, assured that the government would continue to give priority to the welfare and security of all corps members deployed to the state.
(NAN)
