President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged
that his administration will take all
necessary actions to maintain and improve
the National Youth Service Corps scheme as
a functional vehicle for the promotion of
national unity and integration.
Mr. Buhari gave the assurance after
receiving briefing from officials of the
Federal Ministry of Youth Development, led
by the Permanent Secretary, Rabi Jimeta.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of NYSC,
Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, also told the
President that there are plans to make the
scheme voluntary so as to reduce the corps
population and sustain it.
The president affirmed his confidence and
trust in the scheme, saying that the
objective for which the scheme was
established in 1973 was still very relevant
for national development.
He said, “I firmly believe in NYSC and I
think it should remain a national
programme to promote integration.
“Whenever I go home to Daura, I look out
for corps members from Lagos, Aba and
other parts of the country.
“I am always thrilled to learn that except
for the NYSC, some of them have never left
their states of origin to visit other cities in
the country.”
Ms. Jimeta had informed the president that
the increasing number of NYSC members
was a challenge to the scheme due to
dwindling revenue from the national
budget to cater for their needs.
She also told the president that the annual
enrollment of corps participants had
increased from 2,364 at inception in 1974
to 229,016 in 2014.
She added that “given the increasing
number of tertiary institutions, our
projection is that the number of
participants may rise to 300,000 by year
2020″.
(NAN)
Source: PremiumTimes
