The Director, Corps Welfare and Health Services, National Youth Service Corps, Mr Benjamin Ayo-Omotade, on Sunday said inter-tribal marriages among the corps members have continued to foster national unity.

Ayo-Omotade made this known while addressing the 2021 Batch ‘C’ (Stream 1) members deployed to Ondo State, at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Ikare-Akoko.

According to him, inter-tribal marriages were hardly witnessed before the advent of the scheme in 1973 hence the NYSC remained the only place where inter-tribal marriages were witnessed through the relationships developed from the orientation camp.

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“Nigerians from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds are promoting one of the core objectives of the NYSC which is to develop common ties among the youths and promote national unity and integration.

“The orientation camp is fundamentally designed to instil in you virtues of industry and discipline for the task of nation-building.

“I admonish you to participate fully and actively too in all the orientation course contents,” he said.

He also disclosed that the NYSC had concluded plans with the management of the National Health Insurance Scheme to integrate corps members into the healthcare system.

Earlier, the Coordinator, NYSC, Ondo State, Mrs Victoria Ani, said the present stream included 1,478 registered corps members, and 250 camp officials, tested for COVID-19 before admittance into the camp.

She thanked the Director-General for the support of corps members and the scheme.