The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Olakunle Nafiu, has urged state governors to expand the capacity of orientation camps across the country to accommodate the growing number of prospective corps members.
Nafiu said the existing facilities were no longer sufficient to cater for the increasing number of graduates mobilised annually for the national service programme.
He, however, commended some state governments for taking steps to address accommodation challenges in their respective orientation camps.
The NYSC chief made the appeal 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.
According to a statement by the Director of Information and Public Relations, Caroline Embu, Nafiu disclosed that the Lagos State Government was constructing a new permanent orientation camp with a capacity of 10,000 corps members.
He said the facility, when completed, would address the accommodation challenges currently experienced at the temporary camp.
The Director-General also disclosed that Adamawa, Gombe and Borno states were at advanced stages of delivering new orientation camps, while existing facilities in Sokoto, Kwara, Enugu, Osun and other states were undergoing extensive renovations.
He attributed the accommodation shortfall to the increase in the number of tertiary institutions and graduates over the years, including Nigerians who obtained academic 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 said.
Nafiu consequently appealed to state governments to increase the capacity of their orientation camps to accommodate at least 5,000 corps members each, describing the proposal as a sustainable response to the rising number of participants.
Beyond infrastructure, the NYSC boss urged corps members to embrace national unity and integration, which he identified as fundamental principles behind the establishment of the scheme in 1973.
He encouraged them to build meaningful relationships across ethnic, religious and cultural boundaries by exchanging contacts and maintaining connections beyond the orientation period.
He 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 could promote self-reliance.
Nafiu further emphasised the importance of developing multiple sources of income to remain financially stable amid prevailing economic challenges.
On security, he urged corps members to remain vigilant and avoid unnecessary solitary movements.
He advised them to inform their colleagues whenever they needed to travel alone, notify their Corps Liaison Officers and share their locations upon reaching their destinations.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs Christiana Salmwang, disclosed that 11,155 corps members had been deployed to the 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 deployed to neighbouring states, including Ogun, Oyo, Edo, Kwara and Delta, to complete their orientation exercises because of limited accommodation.
Salmwang clarified that the affected corps members would return to Lagos for their primary assignments after completing the orientation programme.
She commended the Lagos State Government for its continued support and commitment to the welfare of corps members.
In a related development, Nafiu praised officers and personnel of the Nigerian Army’s 9 Brigade for their support to the NYSC in Lagos.
He gave the commendation during a courtesy visit to the Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Ayokunle Owolabi, where he acknowledged the military’s contribution to providing security and personnel support for the scheme.
Responding, Owolabi praised the existing relationship between the Army and the NYSC and assured the Director-General of the Brigade’s continued assistance in safeguarding corps members and NYSC officials.
