The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Olakunle Nafiu, has urged parents and guardians to give prospective corps members sufficient transport money to ensure safe journeys to orientation camps nationwide.
Speaking on Wednesday at a forum organised by the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, Nafiu stressed the importance of allowing corps members to break their trips when necessary instead of risking dangerous night travel.
According to him, some prospective corps members spend all their transport fares on a single journey and continue travelling even when conditions become unsafe, exposing themselves to threats such as kidnapping and other security dangers.
“It is safer for parents and guardians to provide extra transport funds so their children can stop over when needed rather than endanger themselves,” he said.
The NYSC boss advised corps members to begin travel preparations immediately after receiving their call-up numbers and avoid last-minute movement during the mobilisation exercise.
He reiterated the scheme’s warning against travelling after 6 p.m., noting that corps members should suspend their journeys once it gets late and continue the following day.
Nafiu also disclosed that the NYSC had strengthened collaboration with security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force and the military, to improve the safety of corps members travelling across the country.
He explained that security operatives now provide escorts in difficult areas, while surveillance and checkpoints have been intensified along major routes leading to orientation camps.
The director-general further warned prospective corps members against paying money to individuals who claim they can influence postings, insisting that deployment is handled automatically through the NYSC system.
He added that only legally married women and corps members with verified health conditions are eligible for special postings closer to their families or medical facilities during service.
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