On Wednesday 18th of March 2020, the National Youth Service Corps announced that it would be suspending the ongoing nationwide orientation for the Batch A corps members. The orientation which began on the 10th of March was stipulated to run for three weeks.
The suspension is in line with global action to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus outbreak in several countries across the world. COVID-19, as the virus is referred to, has been in Nigeria for a little over two weeks with eight (8) reported cases.
The NYSC Director General, Brig.-Gen. Shuaib Ibrahim, regarding the suspension, in his statement said,
“Sequel to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which led to the cancellation of the national sports festival, management of the National Youth Service Corps Scheme wishes to announce the suspension of the on-going orientation course for the 2020 Batch “A” stream 1 corps members.
“Therefore, the corps members shall be posted to commence their primary assignments forthwith, while they shall be invited back to the orientation camps when the situation improves, just like it happened a few years ago when the nation was confronted by the Ebola virus threat. Management wishes to state that no corps member or camp official has contracted the virus.”
The corps members have all been assigned to their Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) and will be expected to resume in due time.