Management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has rebuffed media reports that a large number of corps members were involved in illicit drugs used.
It dismissed the statement purported to have been made by Victoria Nnenna Ani, coordinator, Ondo State chapter, during the 2021 Corps Employers’ Workshop in Akure, as misrepresentation of fact.
“The attention of NYSC Ondo management has been drawn to a report credited to an online medium stating that the NYSC has expressed worry over the high rate of drug abuse and addiction among corps members,” NYSC said in the statement.
The online report had quoted Ani as lamenting that the situation called for concern, following the large number of corps members taking illicit drugs.
Management of the agency clarified that no such statement was made by the state coordinator before, during or after the workshop.
“To set the records straight, one of the employers during the workshop raised concern about the rate at which youths are exposed to hard drugs and how NYSC as a beacon of hope, could assist with sensitisation and enlightenment in order to stem the tide.
“Therefore, management wishes to state that the story is a figment of the writer’s imagination and should be disregarded.
“NYSC Ondo State, through the NYSC Drug-Free Club, a community development service group, shall continue to work in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in order to ensure a drug-free society,” the agency said.
