Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, the Director-General (DG) of National Youth Service Corps, has said the federal government had approved the enrolment of corps members into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).The DG told journalists in Akure at the opening ceremony of the Annual Management Conference, which coincided with the 45th anniversary of the NYSC scheme.
Kazaure said as part of partnership deal with the federal ministry of health, the orientation camp of the scheme had a consultant from the Federal Medical Centre (FMC).
He also commended the corps members that participated in the Osun State gubernatorial election for being good ambassadors of the scheme as no ugly incident was reported about their conduct.
He said, “This annual management conference is for the top managers to come together and critically review the operations and policies of the scheme by setting an agenda so as to improve on the programme in subsequent years.” Speaking also on the increment of allowance of corps members, he said the scheme was not different from the civil service and would need to wait for the new National Minimum Wage before it could take effect.
He said the scheme had cleared the backlog of unpaid staff allowances and also created a robust forum to interface with members of staff and labour unions for industrial harmony.
Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu who declared the event open said that the NYSC had contributed tremendously to the development of the nation’s democracy.
The governor who wasrepresented by his deputy, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, said that the sustenance of the scheme would continue to impact on the society. He added, “NYSC has not only harmonised the diverse ethnic groups of Nigeria, but also reduced prejudices and misconceptions thereby promoting mutual trust, understanding and tolerance.”