Gov. Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom has assured members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the state of adequate safety and security during their service year.

Eno made the call on Friday at the swearing-in ceremony of the 2025 NYSC Batch A Stream II NYSC members at Nsit Atai Local Government Area.

The governor said that necessary measures were already in place to ensure that corps members were protected against harassments and intimidations.

Represented by Dr Ekerete Ekanem,
the Commissioner for Youth Development, Eno urged the NYSC members to conduct themselves in manners that would promote national unity and cultural integration.

According to him, Nigerians are looking up to NYSC members to build bridges of peace and unity across linguistic, ethnic and cultural boundaries.

“NYSC is one of the institutions that Nigerian uses to demonstrate its unity, as members of the scheme, you owe the nation a duty to promote unity, peace and cultural integration.

”As you take your oath today, you are expected to collectively and individually contribute your quota to the development of this nation,” he said.

Eno said that youths as strategic stakeholders in the Nigerian project, should play active roles in the process of nation building.

“You must know that Nigerians are looking up to you to foster substantially improved prospects and refreshing change.

“Use this opportunity to show that we can live together and achieve the desires of our founding father,” he said.

Eno assured the corps members of his government’s commitment to support the scheme with infrastructure that would enable it to fulfill its mandate as an agent of unity and development.

In his speech, the Commissioner for Youth Development, represented by the Permanent Secretary,  Mr Effiong Nicholas, urged the youths to accept Akwa Ibom as their new home.

He urged them to discountenance all manner of stereotyping and  preconceived notions about the state, and show commitment towards national service.

Earlier, Mr Sam Pepple, the NYSC Coordinator in Akwa Ibom, disclosed that a total of 1,576 corps members were registered for national service in the state.

“Out of this number, 750 are male while 826 of them are female. They will carry out primary assignments and community development services during the year.

“There will also be winding up, passing out activities, and our unwritten flagship skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development programme,” he said.

Pepple urged the corps members to participate actively in all the activities in order to equip themselves with the basic ingredients of leadership.

He thanked the Akwa Ibom Government for its supports and collaborations with scheme.

The highpoint of the event was the administration of oath of allegiance on the corps members.(NAN)

A new report on “Addressing Voter Apathy in Nigeria” has identified insecurity and socioeconomic challenges as key drivers of low voter turnout during elections.

Prof. Freedom Onouha, Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, while presenting the report findings on Friday in Abuja, said the study aimed to address voters’ apathy in Nigeria.

Research was conducted by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR).

Onouha identified electoral violence, distrust in electoral process and voters suspicion as key drivers of apathy that stifle electoral process in Nigeria,

He called for the implementation of reforms to restore citizens’ trust in the electoral process.

“There are structural as well as systemic factors that are responsible for voter apathy, but the most important ones is the issue of growing distrust in the electoral system.

“People are beginning to feel that the electoral body is not conducting elections that enable their votes to count.

“The loss of faith in those electoral bodies and electoral process is the number one reason why we are having low voter turnout,” he said.

He said that insecurity was also a major cause of voters’ apathy.

“Increasingly, we are seeing our politicians mobilise violence in a large scale, on a disposed scale, in order to win an election.

“That, in itself, is causing a lot of discomfort. People are not really prepared to risk their lives to vote for election.

“There is always this conclusion that the outcome of the election tends not to reflect in terms of the outcome,” Onouha said.

According to him, there is also the issue of bad governance.

He said that those who eventually win election failed to run the kind of governance that delivered on basic services.

“These tend to make them lose hope or disengage from the electoral process and from the government of the nation, and that in itself, is a major problem for the country,” he said.

He said that addressing these challenges was crucial to restoring the integrity of the electoral system and ensuring that citizens’ voices were heard.

He said that meaningful reforms were essential to restoring public trust and ensuring the integrity of future elections.

“The current administration needs to raise the bar in terms of security, not just now, but also during the elections, because insecurity is the major disincentive why people do not vote.

“The second point is that we need to have a clear-eyed approach to reforming our electoral processes and our electoral institutions,” he said.

“In this regard, if we say we want to transition to electronic voting and we are going to transmit results, we need to do it in such a way that it is seamless, smooth so that people will have confidence on the government.

Also, Dr Fatima Adamu, Executive Director, Nana Girls and Women Empowermen Initiative, an NGO, stressed the need to tackle insecurity, which has affected women’s participation in electoral processes.

“Women really complain bitterly about the violence during campaigns, the same thing during election. So that needs to be addressed.

“Another issue that women raise is lack of voter education and representation of quality leaders, and especially women.

” They feel that they are not giving quality women to contest, and they want the political parties to do so,” she said.

Mr Lennart Oestergaard, Resident Representative of FES, said: “if people do not make use of their right to vote, then that is a challenge, and it has to be addressed.

“This research findings is open to everyone who is interested, civil society, actors, academia and also the government, to take a look at it, and maybe if it’s helpful, take some learnings.”

Dr Joseph Ochogwu, Director-General, IPCR, represented by Dr Ayuba Caleb, said that the institute remained committed to supporting efforts that deepen democratic values and foster a culture of active peaceful citizenship.” (NAN)

 Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun, on Friday, said that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme remained a cornerstone of national unity and youth development in Nigeria.

Adeleke said this during the swearing -in and opening ceremony of the 2025 Batch A stream II Orientation Camp for corps members posted to Osun State.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Kola Adewusi, at the orientation camp in Ede, Osun, said that the impact of the scheme on the socio-economic landscape of Nigeria cannot be quantified.

2883 corps members were at the Ede camp for the orientation programme.

These comprised of the 1332 corp members posted to Osun and 1551, who were posted to Lagos State, but dislodged due to accommodation issues at the NYSC Ipaja camp.

The 1,332  corps member posted to Osun comprise of 574 males and 758 females.

Adeleke said that the scheme remained one of Nigeria’s most enduring institutions for nation-building and civic responsibility.

According to him, the scheme has served as a unifying platform that continues to bridge ethnic and religious divides, while empowering young Nigerians with vital skills and exposure that transcend the classroom.

” I want to urge you all to uphold the values of discipline, loyalty, and service and strive to be role models and positive change agents in every assignment you undertake.

” Your presence is a testament to your willingness to serve your fatherland with honour and at a time when your innovation, patriotism, and resilience are needed more than ever before,” he said.

The governor  further advised the corps members to be respect the traditions and culture of their hosts communities, upholding the laws of the land, and contribute positively to the communities where they serve.

In his address of welcome , the NYSC Osun  Coordinator, Mr  Agbor Obim, said that a total number of 2,883 corps members were deployed to the state including those dislodged from Lagos State.

He congratulated the corps members, stressing that the orientation course was a unique journey of self-discovery, skill acquisition, service, and nation-building.

Obim said that punctuality, discipline, and participation in all camp activities, including adherence to prescribed dress code, and respect for camp rules and officials were non-negotiable. (NAN)