The Director-General NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Fadah, has urged corps members not to take the 2022 NYSC Annual Sports and Cultural Festival as a do-or-die affair.
Fadah stated this at the inauguration of the Zonal Preliminaries of the 2022 NYSC Annual Sports and Cultural Festival on Sunday at the permanent orientation camp, Wailo, in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
Represented by Assistant Director, Community Development Service (CDS), NYSC headquarters, John Guli, Fadah said the festival was to harness the potentials of the youth towards sustainable national development.
He added that the competition was designed to also explore talents in dance, drama and sports.
This, he said, was to further entrench the objectives of the scheme towards promoting national unity.
“The scheme seeks to provide an avenue for further interactions among corps members of diverse backgrounds, irrespective of our ethnic and religious differences.
“We can lift our country higher through our shared values, spirit of patriotism and collective will.
“I implore you to adhere strictly to the rules of the festival. You are to also conduct yourselves peacefully throughout the period.
“You should all imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship by not taking the competition as a do or die affair but a platform to showcase your talents.
“To the referees, umpires and judges of dance, drama and standout comedy, I urge you to please display professionalism and fairness in officiating the competition,” he said.
Earlier, the State Coordinator of the scheme, Alhaji Namadi Abubakar, congratulated the corps members for representing their states.
Abubakar, who was represented by Assistant Director, Deployment and Relocation, NYSC Bauchi, Ochi Onyike, appreciated the state government and the people of the state for providing them an enabling environment to conduct the exercise.
The states participating in the competition in Bauchi Zone include Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Taraba and Yobe.
Gombe State would lock horns with Jigawa, Taraba takes on Adamawa, while Yobe would be slogging it out with Borno in both football and volleyball competitions.
Other competitions are track events (athletics), dance, drama as well as comedy.