Only 4.6m Nigerians Have Completed National Youth Service Since Inception, Says NYSC DG

The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has disclosed that only 4,644,804 Nigerians have successfully completed the national youth service scheme since its inception in 1973.

He said the number represents only those who completed the mandatory national youth service and does not include those who absconded or those who applied for exemption. He also added that the scheme has delivered on its mandate.

"Since inception, four million six hundred and forty-four thousand eight hundred and four (4,644,804) have participated in the scheme.

"Since the establishment of the NYSC, successive managers of the scheme have been committed to meeting public expectations in the pursuit of its mandate with the support of government and other stakeholders. In line with the vision of its founding fathers, deliberate steps have been taken with the aim of repositioning it for greater performance.

"The result indeed has been heart-warming as the scheme, over the past four decades and a half, has made invaluable contributions to the socio-economic development of the country to the admiration of all stakeholders."

According to him, his administration's policy direction is to build on the achievements of his predecessors as the NYSC is a continuum, sustain effective utilisation of the potential of corps members for potential benefit, purse a technically-driven organisation to deepen effective service delivery, and improvement of the welfare and security of corps members and staff.

He also listed others as strengthening existing collaboration with stakeholders and reinvigorating NYSC ventures and Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED), programme in line with NYSC Act for greater impact.

The NYSC DG stated that he is already striving to accomplish the priorities in his policy trust with advocacy visit to stakeholders.

"We have set up committees to work out strategies for the reinvigoration of the SAED programme. We are working vigorously to ensure that our ventures, especially the farms and garment factories are more more functional and able to produce reasonable quantities of products needed by the scheme."

Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi, Director, Press and Public Relations, in her welcome address thanked the media and appealed to the media to always balance their stories and always be objective.

"The NYSC over the years has become household name in Nigeria with visible impacts in the socio-economic development of the country. As an organization that values its critical stakeholders, we have continued to enlist the support of our media partners to showcase the scheme's efforts and contributions towards advancing our dear country to greater heights.

"I wish to appeal that you continue to display the ethical principles of objetivities and balance in reporting the NYSC. We shall on our part, continue to keep our doors open for clarification on issues that concern the service corps and its operations."

Mr. Emmanuel Ogbeche, Chairman, Nigeran Union of Journalist (NUJ), Abuja chapter, urged the scheme to black list violent states that cannot guarantee the safety of corps members and the DG in his response said, the scheme is very swift in acting when it comes to the safety and well-being of corps members and that at a time when there was violence in southern Taraba, the scheme withdrew all the corps members from there for their safety.