The traditional parade was supposed to hold on Thursday, June 5 but was cancelled by the Nigerian government.
The parade is usually the last official function of the graduates as corps members before they are issued with their discharge certificates.
One of the corps members affected, Franka Onuche, who served in Rivers State, expressed her disappointment to reporters.
“I must tell you I’m not happy. I’m disappointed that I was not able witness the parade here in Port Harcourt. We were told that we could not do it because of the security challenges the country is facing right now. But I think the federal government should have provided enough security for corps member all over the nation since they know it’s our day and its once in a year for each batch,” she said.
Another corps member, Grace Ejioda, who served in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, however, deemed the cancellation a great idea considering the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.
“The Federal Government has done well by asking us not do the usual pass out parade. With this whole Boko Haram issue going on around the country now, one has to be very careful because we can never know when they will strike again. Now, it’s not as if they have a target, it’s usually where there is a crowd. We really need to try as much as possible to avoid crowds,” she said.
The National Youth Service Corps Public Relation Officer, Bose Aderibige, also confirmed that the security situation caused an alteration of the passing out program.
“It (whole passing out program) was not cancelled. It was all done on a low key. The ceremony was held, awards were given,” she said. “But there was no parade because we did not want them to be gathered in one place because of the security challenges in the nation. It’s only the parade that was cancelled.”
NigerianEye
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