The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has called for collaborative efforts by all stakeholders in addressing the increasing rate of drug abuse and addiction among Corps members.
The NYSC coordinator in Ondo state, Victoria Ani made the call on Wednesday at the 2021 Corps employers workshop in Akure, the state capital.
The workshop’s theme is ‘Optimizing the NYSC/ Corps employers Partnership for National Development in the context of the New Normal.’
Stakeholders who attended the workshop had complained that many corps members deployed to their establishments for places of primary assignment engaged in various acts of drug abuse and weed-smoking.
The state coordinator, who expressed worry over the increasing involvement of Corps members in drug abuse, urged their employers to assist in rehabilitating them rather than rejecting such Corps members.
In a message, the Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, told employers of corps members that they have no authority to locate corps members outside their state of deployment.
The DG, who was represented by the Director, NYSC South West Area office, Tunde Fadairo, said employers could only approve corpers’ Letter of leave or travel through the state coordinator with only him to approve letters for a corp member wishing to travel outside the country.
Reporting by Kayode Animasaun, editing by Daniel Adejo