FG can pay youth corps members, sustain scheme, NYSC board chair assures

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BY SAIFULLAH MAHMUD, SEPTEMBER 07, 2022 | 11:11 AM


Federal Government is capable of paying allowances of all youth corps members and sustain the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the Chairman, Governing Board of NYSC, Amb. Fatima Abubakar, assured. She gave the assurance in Abuja on Tuesday on the sidelines of the meeting of the board with chairmen of NYSC state governing boards.

Abubakar said “though the NYSC is a huge organisation, Federal Government has the capacity to sustain it.

“The Federal Government has not complained that it is not able to pay, or have you ever heard of any complain about that? “Federal Government has the capacity to pay allowances of youth corps members and the state governments also have the capacity to provide the facilities in the different orientation camps.

“So, no matter what the number is, they have the capacity.”

She, therefore, enjoined state governments and other stakeholders to ensure that they fulfill their end of the responsibility and not leave it for the Federal Government to shoulder alone.

“While some stakeholders such as the Federal Government and a number of states are functional in the discharge of their obligations to the scheme, the performances of several others leave much to be desired as they abrade their functions and statutory obligations to the scheme as stipulated by the Act.

“This may have been borne out of the erroneous impression that NYSC is the responsibility of Federal Government alone.” In her address of welcome, she said that the scheme which had spanned 49 years of operation achieved a lot in contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

Abubakar added that a lot more needed to be done to enable the scheme to accomplish its objectives, and enjoined stakeholders in all tiers of government to perform their obligations.

She listed some of the scheme’s challenges to include the lack of permanent orientation camps in some states and upgrade of facilities in the orientation camps, establishment of NYSC State Governing Boards and Local Government Committees.

She, however, said that the meeting would focus on those areas of concern and adopt possible ways of galvanising the required synergy and support from the concerned stakeholders.

The meeting, she said, was also intended to clarify the statutory roles of every segment as specified in the NYSC Act and to appraise specific roles as provided in the scheme’s enabling Act.

The Minister, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Muhammad Bello, while declaring the meeting open, assured the scheme of his administration’s support, adding that the FCT Administration had approved the construction of a new permanent orientation camp in Kwali.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bello was represented by Hajiya Hadiza kabir, the Mandate Secretary, FCTA and FCT NYSC Governing Board Chairman.

The minister said that a new secretariat complex was also underway in pursuance of his administration’s determination to ease the operations of the scheme in the FCT.

Bello urged the board to look into the issue of security to give youth corps members the confidence they needed to serve their fatherland by giving their services to those who needed them the most.He said “I have issued a directive against rejection of youth corps members in the FCT, which is of great concern to the management of the scheme.”

The former Secretary-General, Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hajiya Binta Bello, said it is important for local governments to have NYSC secretariats.

She also noted that the issue of insecurity is dissuading youth corps members from seeking posting to rural areas where they are mostly needed.

According to her, many NYSC members even work their posting out of such areas for fear of being hurt while carrying out their mandatory one year national service.

The Director-General, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Mr Asishana Okauru, said youths constitute the core team that must be focused on when thinking about development and progress in Nigeria.

He said NGF would prioritise the needs of the NYSC and address some of the specific issues mentioned.

He added that “there are a number of specific things the states are supposed to be doing that it appears that they have simply forgotten.

“The board chairman said some states are doing well while some have abandoned what they should be doing, so I want to commit that we will try as much as possible to get the buy-in of other stakeholders.”

The NYSC Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Muhammad Fadah, appreciated the stakeholders, saying that some states had met the expectations of the NYSC Act.

He, however, said some states needed to do more, adding that “kindly and respectfully reach out to your stakeholders, plead with them that they should support us in that regard.”

NAN


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