From Ali Abare, Gombe
Poor sanitary conditions of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp in Gombe State is said to be responsible for the low turnout of prospective corps members posted to the state.
Meanwhile, corps members deployed to serve in the state for the 2017 Batch ‘A’ Stream II have called on the state government as well as other relevant authorities to act promptly to prevent a possible outbreak of epidemic at the temporary camp.
Corps members who spoke to Daily Sun, yesterday, at the Amada NYSC camp, said the camp was not conducive due to lack of potable water and other essential sanitary needs.
They said the are forced to make use of pit toilet, which is a threat to their health.
Officials at the camp have also appealed to the state government to speed up work at the alternative temporary orientation camp at Doho in Kwami Local Government Area.
State NYSC camp coordinator, Mr. Ibeh Chidube disclosed that Gombe was supposed to receive 3,500 corps members in each stream but could not do so because of the condition of the temporary camp, which can accommodate only 1, 500.
“Because of the condition of our camp, the corps members that were supposed to be in Gombe are posted to other states,” he said.
Chidube said as a result of lack of adequate facilities at the temporary camp, classrooms and offices were converted to hostels. The same classroom equally serve as both male and female ward for camp clinic.
He also lamented the severe water scarcity in the camp with officials forced to buy drinking water from vendors for use by corps members.
“This is a secondary school. Whenever there is camp, we dislodge the children and it is not good for the development of education in the state,” he noted.
Dr. Daniel Musa, Head of Civil Service and chairman NYSC Governing Council, said the state government was working towards providing an alternative orientation camp.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Youth Development, Segun Adekola had, during an inspection tour to the NYSC camp, described it as inhabitable while expressing concern at the manner corps members were being treated at the facility.