Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has assured Nigerians that the country’s future is very bright, and that realising this will require the collective effort of all.

Mutfwang spoke yesterday at the opening ceremony of the 2026 National Youth Service Corps Annual Management Conference, held at Crispan Hotel, Jos, Plateau State.

Represented by his Deputy, Ngo Josephine Piyo, the governor said that since the NYSC was established mainly as an interventionist programme to promote national unity and integration in the wake of the nation’s 30-month civil war, the scheme has grown to assume a strategic role in national life and in the nation’s stride towards development.

According to Mutfwang, the assertion gains credence when considered in light of the scheme’s tangible impact in education, health, rural infrastructure development, sports, and the provision of gainful employment for corps members through skills acquisition and entrepreneurship training, among others.

He commended the managers of the scheme for keeping faith with the dreams of its founding father, General Yakubu Gowon, and for sustaining the tempo as “the leading light of youth organisation in Africa”.

Given the intangible transformational work the scheme is doing through the corps members, he noted, it gives assurance that the nation has a future and that the youth are on a steady path.

The governor said that NYSC’s deliberate and concerted efforts to address the challenge of graduate youth unemployment through skills training for corps members, to empower them for self-employment and wealth creation, are yielding results.

As part of his administration’s commitment to youth development, he pointed out that he personally visited the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Mangu, in 2025, where he gave an immediate directive for renovation work to commence and for the remaining portions to be completed.

On the choice of the conference theme, “NYSC as a catalyst for National Development: Tackling Present Challenges and Charting Sustainable Solutions,” he said it is appropriate and timely.

Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, said the two-day event will afford participants a series of well-structured presentations delivered by subject experts from within and outside the scheme.

Nafiu added that the sessions are designed to promote informed discussions and encourage practical contributions that will enhance the overall performance and impact of the NYSC.

On his part, the State NYSC Coordinator in Plateau, Mr. Yavala Jonathan Iliya, appreciated Mutfwang, whom he said does not treat the affairs of NYSC with levity.

Iliya described the governor as youth-friendly, adding that he has provided them with a state-of-the-art, ultra-modern temporary orientation camp facility, the rental for which is paid in advance.

“He has always augmented the feeding of corps members during their orientation exercises,” he postulated.