The Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang, has appealed to stakeholders at all levels to join hands with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the collective effort towards sustainable youth empowerment across Nigeria.
Governor Muftwang made the appeal while declaring open the 2026 Annual Management Conference (AMC) of the Scheme held in Jos, Plateau State. Represented by his Deputy, Josephine Piyo, he commended the NYSC for sustaining the vision of its founding fathers and for remaining relevant in the nation’s drive towards unity and development.
“Let me appeal to stakeholders at all levels to join hands with the NYSC in this great match towards sustainable youth empowerment,” he said.
The Governor praised the Scheme’s contributions to national unity and socio-economic growth through various community development projects in education, health, rural infrastructure, and sports. He also acknowledged its efforts in empowering corps members through the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
“I therefore use this opportunity to urge the NYSC Management not to rest on its oars as there still remains a lot to be done in the provision of relevant skills to the corps members,” he added.
He disclosed that his administration had commenced the renovation of facilities at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Mangu and released several hectares of land for agricultural purposes to further support the Scheme’s role in boosting food production.
The Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, also commended the management and staff of the NYSC for their continued dedication to youth development. In his Goodwill message, he noted that the country had witnessed many achievements through various interventions of the Scheme.
“Let me commend the management and staff of the NYSC. I want to also urge the managers to share experiences, introduce fresh ideas that will improve the impact of the scheme, and take advantage of technical effectiveness to improve service delivery,” the Minister said.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, in his opening remarks, reaffirmed the Scheme’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving service delivery and aligning its operations with current realities. He noted that internal reviews from the previous year had shown the need to continue embracing change and ensuring sustainable growth.
“Our internal review of the past year has clearly shown that we must continue to embrace change and ensure sustainable growth. Having matured, the Scheme is now positioned to move beyond symbolic nation-building towards more direct and measurable contributions to national development,” the DG stated.
The Director of Information and Public Relations, Caroline Embu, explained that the conference was themed “NYSC as a Catalyst for National Development; Tackling Present Challenges and Charting Sustainable Solutions.”
Also speaking, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Nura Umar, described the conference as a platform for NYSC managers to review the Scheme’s activities, assess performance, identify gaps, and collectively find sustainable solutions for improved operations.
