The management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has rebuffed a report insinuating that the Director General of the Scheme, Brigadier General Ibrahim Shuaibu, is out to islamized Benue camp, saying “the report was the imagination of the writer.”
The scheme’s director, Press and Public Relations, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, in a statement Saturday, said the DG instruction was targeted at corps welfare and aimed at ensuring all groups worship under structures built for that purpose and not exposed to negative weather elements in the event of rain or extreme sunshine.
She said “there was not a time during the DG’s visit was such instruction given, as the scheme recognises all faith and allowed the National Association of Catholic Corpers (NACC), Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF) and Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria (MCAN) to operate without hinder in the camp.”
The group under the auspices of Coalition for Peace and Justice in a statement had stated that the DG expressed anger that there is no mosque in the camp and ordered Benue state coordinator to build a mosque in the camp immediately.
She said: “When we visited the camp, the DG observed that the three associations worshiping in the open space, he therefore instructed the State coordinator, saying a place should be provides for them, as those worshiping should have a structure under which they could worship. The instruction was therefore targeted toward the welfare of the corps members.
“In fact, it wasn’t only Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria (MCAN) that he saw and he was only concern about the welfare of the corps members without prejudice; as the scheme does not favour any religion against another.
“So the DG’s instruction was targeted at corps welfare and aimed at ensuring all groups worship under structures built for that purpose and not exposed to negative weather elements in the event of rain or extreme sunshine,” she said.
The scheme was established to unify Nigeria therefore the management would not allow any policy or action that will say otherwise.
