Benjamin Ayo-Omotade, Director, Corps Welfare and Health Services, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), says inter-tribal marriages among corp members have continued to foster national unity.

Mr Ayo-Omotade made this known while addressing the 2021 Batch ‘C’ (Stream 1) members deployed to Ondo at the NYSC permanent orientation camp in Ikare-Akoko.

According to him, inter-tribal marriages were hardly witnessed before the advent of the scheme in 1973. Hence, the NYSC has remained the only place where inter-tribal marriages are witnessed through the relationships developed at orientation camps.

“Nigerians from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds are promoting one of the core objectives of NYSC, which is to develop common ties among the youths and promote national unity and integration. The orientation camp is fundamentally designed to instil in you virtues of industry and discipline for the task of nation-building,” he added. “I admonish you to participate fully and actively, too, in all the orientation course contents.”

He also disclosed that the NYSC had concluded plans with the management of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to integrate corps members into the healthcare system.

Earlier, Victoria Ani, Coordinator, NYSC, Ondo, said the present stream included 1,478 registered corps members, and 250 camp officials, tested for COVID-19 before admission into the camp.

(NAN)