President Buhari made an interesting revelation during a recent meeting with delegates from the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday February 6. He noted that some Lagosians living in Victoria Island have never set foot in Ikeja.
The corps members, led by Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, and the NYSC director-general Ibrahim Shehu, visited to express gratitude to the president for the increase in their monthly allowance from N19,800 to N33,000.
In a statement released by President Buhari’s spokesperson Femi Adesina, the Nigerian leader praised former Head of State Yakubu Gowon for introducing the scheme, which he believes has helped young people gain a better understanding of the country and different cultures.
Buhari expressed his appreciation for the NYSC, saying, “People come from far and wide; some from Victoria Island in Lagos have not even been to Ikeja. They now find themselves in Daura and other parts of the country. Whenever I go to my town, I get in touch with members; some of them from Lagos, some from Port Harcourt. Whenever I meet General Gowon up till today, I thank him for initiating the NYSC. It is a nationalist and patriotic thinking that led to the development of the scheme.”