The event which was a crowd puller had guests from all walks of life including the academia, top government functionaries, diplomat corps, public servants, student bodies, politicians, etc. The ceremony had Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara as special guest of honour as well as chief launcher and the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig Gen. Bamidele Olawumi as chief hosts, among others. Speaker Dogara, who was represented by Hon. Pally Iriase, Deputy Chief Whip of the House, also had former serving members of the lower legislative chamber, Hon. Bimbo Daramola in attendance. “The attendance should not be a surprise because with 350,000 partners on board even before the launch, our youths should naturally be excited. The implication being that with this huge partnership at inception with more to follow, the Nigerian youth knows that everywhere he turns for goods and services, there are discount cards available to be enjoyed. They won’t only save some money, they will also be able to get more for the little they have,” Daramola, the Consultant to the project said. While challenging users and Nigerians to rate the card in a year after inception, Daramola assured that in two years, the initiative would have served the 23 million Nigerian youths well. Similar cards have been in use in neighbouring Ghana, Kenya and for over three decades have been enjoyed by students in Europe and Americas. Upbeat, he said the initiative was in sync with one of the core programme on his eight point agenda. “This card is addressing the welfare issue and that is why he is very optimistic that it will add value to the corpers’ lives. Corpers should be warned not to abuse it by embarking on unnecessary travels because of discuss they will get. We all know the situation of our roads, so please don’t abuse it especially on travel,” he said. While launching the card, Iriase who represented the Speaker, in his keynote address said the Nigerian youths need government policies that would cushion the effect of economic difficulties currently facing the country.]]>