Abia Governor Ikpeazu Meets NYSC DG, Wants Kits to be Made in Aba

Abia Governor Ikpeazu Meets NYSC DG, Wants Kits to be Made in Aba

Abia state Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on Wednesday met with the director-general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Suleiman Kazaure to explore the possibility of having NYSC kits made in Aba, a major manufacturing hub.

Ikpeazu assured the NYSC DG that manufacturers in Abia state could deliver premium quality uniforms and footwears for corps members if granted the opportunity.

The governor added that over 1 million pairs of shoes were presently being exported from the state on a weekly basis and that a collaboration with the NYSC would further help empower Nigerian youths in the state.

Vanguard reports that Ikpeazu stressed that the government had put a quality assurance procedure in place for all products made in Aba where 80 percent of the manufacturing in Abia took place.

“We want to have products that we can put our stamp of authority so that we can be held responsible,” Ikpeazu said.

The governor equally promised to see to the establishment of a programme to train corps members on the production of the NYSC kits and empower those with good business proposals.

On funding, the governor said: “We will do something around helping the Abia people to get this bank guarantee we are talking about. We are working our way around it to favour the voiceless, those people who are actually doing this with their hands, yet they are unable to interpret the language of the bank.”

In response to Ikpeazu’s demand for collaboration, the NYSC DG informed the governor that manufacturers in Abia state were free to participate in the NYSC bidding/procurement process.

Kazaure maintained that the scheme was widely respected for its law-abiding principle and while he could trust the governor, there were procurement rules to be followed.