Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has advocated the inclusion of entrepreneurship programme in National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) scheme to prepare graduates for self-reliance other than seeking regular employment.

He said, on Wednesday in Asaba, when the Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, visited him that the scheme was very important to the country.

Okowa pledged his administration’s continuous support to the scheme and commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for increasing the allowance of NYSC members.

“The Government of Delta State and the NYSC have always had a warm relationship.

“We are aware that some of the facilities at the orientation camp need to be upgraded and we hope that in the course of this year, the state government will be able to upgrade the camp further.

“This is because we believe that when our children are in the camp they need to have fitting facilities for them to carry out their activities in comfort.

“We are glad that you are here for a workshop to update yourselves which will enable you to do better and I am happy to see our children go through the scheme.

“It has helped to unite us more as a nation, provided the opportunity for our children to find themselves in other parts of the country and gives one a better view of what Nigeria is like.

“I also believe that it is a preparatory ground for the future of our children and I am glad that a few new things are coming to the camp.

“I hope that in the course of your workshop, we need to continue to strengthen the fact that the corps members need to begin to acquire some level of skills and it is very important, especially when they are still in the camps,’’ he said.

The governor added that universities in the country needed to incorporate skill acquisition courses in their programmes so that youths could be properly prepared for the future.

According to him, it is important that they depend more on their skills rather than wait for white collar jobs; these are the initiatives we need to start taking as a nation, otherwise, we will go into crisis.

Okowa said: “in our state, we have started to make it compulsory that our tertiary institutions introduce skill acquisition and entrepreneurship programmes which will help prepare our children for the future.

“I must appreciate the Federal Government for upgrading the allowance for corps members, because that in itself was already a huge challenge and we hope that as a state, we will continue to give support to the scheme.

“I must thank the corps members for their service to the nation, especially during the elections in spite of security challenges, because since they have become involved in the election process, we have recorded less violent elections across the nation.”

Earlier, Brig-Gen. Ibrahim had told the governor that he was in Delta for a workshop, adding that Asaba had been made the regional headquarters of NYSC in the South-South.

He commended the state government for providing facilities at the NYSC orientation camp in the state and assisting the scheme in other ways.