The National Youth Service Corps has restated that it would ensure more contributions to national development through the execution of laudable projects by Corps Members that would improve the living standard of rural dwellers across the country.
It said Community Development Service (CDS) was designed to galvanize the enormous potentials of graduate youths and generate community interest towards national development.
The NYSC Director General, Brigadier General YD Ahmed stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open the 2023 Community Development Service Schedule Officers’ Workshop.
Speaking through the Director, Community Development Service and Special Projects, Hajiya Zainab Isah, General Ahmed said NYSC would continue to utilize the challenges posed by rural development and inculcate in graduate youths, the ideals of patriotism and endurance, selflessness, community and national capacities for leadership, efficiency and creativity.
He added that the Scheme would continue to showcase more initiatives in education, infrastructure, healthcare delivery, agriculture, economic empowerment, and above all national consciousness and socio-cultural regeneration.
General Ahmed said the continued relevance of the National Youth Service Corps is no doubt, largely predicated on the strength and capacity of the Community Development Service programme to impact more on the lives of Nigerians, especially, the rural dwellers.
He also said the workshop would be used to brainstorm on possible ways of enhancing the CDS programme, to enable the Scheme contribute more to national development and assist the nation in measuring up with the global trends of emerging economies.
In her introductory address, the Director, Community Development Service and Special Projects, Hajiya Zainab Isah, whose address was read by a Deputy Director, Mrs Grace Bamai said the CDS Schedule Officers’ Workshop is an annual event geared towards enhancing staff competency for greater productivity.
She said the workshop would also broaden the horizon of the Schedule Officers and equip them with requisite knowledge for more effective service delivery.
Hajiya Izah said this year’s edition of the workshop, with the theme; “Rejigging NYSC Community Development Service for National Development”, would help the Scheme to review the CDS programme with strategies to repositioning it for greater contribution to national development, which is imperative for sustaining the Scheme’s relevance.
The Director commended the Schedule Officers for their remarkable efforts in guiding Corps Members in the execution of personal and group CDS projects.
“It is on record that the execution of quality and impact-felt projects and collaborative partnership activities, owed their successes to their dedication to duty”, she said.
