Get Guardian on GoogleThe Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, on Thursday, asked state governments across the country to expand the capacity of their orientation camps to accommodate at least 5,000 Corps Members each.
Nafiu said the current accommodation challenges in several orientation camps were largely due to the significant growth in the number of graduates from Nigerian tertiary institutions and foreign universities.
The NYSC boss disclosed this while addressing Corps Members deployed to Lagos State for the 2026 Batch C Stream II service year at the Scheme’s Temporary Orientation Camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, and said that the Scheme now mobilises as many as 450,000 graduates annually, compared with about 100,000 in previous years.
General Nafiu disclosed that the Lagos State Government was currently constructing a new 10,000-capacity NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp which, upon completion, would address the accommodation challenges being experienced at the temporary camp in Iyana Ipaja.
He also revealed that the governments of Adamawa, Gombe and Borno States were at advanced stages of delivering brand-new Orientation Camps to the Scheme, while existing camps in Sokoto, Kwara, Enugu, Osun and some other states were undergoing extensive renovations to provide more conducive training environments for Corps Members.
The NYSC helmsman attributed the accommodation shortfall in Orientation Camps nationwide to the significant increase in the number of tertiary institutions and graduates in recent years, including Nigerians who obtained their qualifications from foreign institutions.
“Before now, we used to mobilise about 100,000 graduates annually, and that was when most of the Orientation Camps in the country were built. Currently, however, we mobilise up to 450,000 graduates. This means that the population we have to cater for is far beyond the carrying capacities of the existing structures,” he explained.
He therefore appealed to state governments to expand the capacity of NYSC Orientation Camps in their respective states to accommodate at least 5,000 Corps Members each, describing this as a sustainable way of addressing the ever-increasing population of prospective Corps Members.
Nafiu urged the Corps Members to embrace the spirit of national unity and integration from the Orientation Camp, noting that these were among the fundamental ideals upon which the NYSC was established in 1973.
He encouraged them to exchange telephone contacts freely and build lasting relationships across ethnic, religious and cultural divides as a means of strengthening national cohesion.
The Director-General also advised the young graduates to take advantage of the Scheme’s Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme to acquire vocational and entrepreneurial skills that would make them self-reliant.
He stressed the importance of having multiple sources of income to remain financially stable in the prevailing economic climate.
Caroline Embu
In a statement by the Director of Information and Public Relations, Nafiu charged the Corps Members to remain vigilant at all times and exercise caution in their movements.
Nafiu said: “Never move in isolation from your colleagues. If you have any reason to go somewhere alone, ensure that you inform the colleagues with whom you share accommodation. Most importantly, notify your Corps Liaison Officer (CLO) and share your location with your colleagues as soon as you arrive at your destination.”
In her report, on the camp situation, Lagos State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs Christiana Salmwang, disclosed that the Corps Members have demonstrated enthusiasm and readiness to be mentored in line with the Scheme’s core values.
The Coordinator disclosed that a total of 11,155 Corps Members had been deployed to Lagos State for the 2026 Batch ‘C’ service year.
However, only 4,380 were accommodated at the Iyana Ipaja Orientation Camp, while the remaining Corps Members were dislodged to neighbouring states, including Ogun, Oyo, Edo, Kwara and Delta, to undergo their Orientation Course due to the limited capacity of the Lagos camp.
She clarified that all the dislodged Corps Members would be posted to various locations in Lagos State for their Primary Assignments at the end of the Orientation Course.
She commended the Lagos State Government for its continued support to the NYSC and its commitment to the welfare of Corps Members.
