AGENCY REPORTER
MINISTER of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to keeping the National Youth Service Corps scheme alive to promote national development.
Dare disclosed this via his official Twitter handle on Wednesday, days after a bill calling for a scrap of the scheme passed the second reading in the House of Representatives.
The sponsor, Awaji-Inombek Abiante, in the explanatory memorandum of the proposal, rolled out the various reasons the NYSC should be scrapped.
He said, “This bill seeks to repeal Section 315(5)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended) on the following grounds:
“Incessant killing of innocent corps members in some parts of the country due to banditry, religious extremism and ethnic violence; incessant kidnapping of innocent corps members across the country;
“Public and private agencies/departments are no longer recruiting able and qualified Nigerian youths, thus relying heavily on the availability of corps members who are not being well remunerated and get discarded with impunity at the end of their service year without any hope of being gainfully employed;
“Due to insecurity across the country, the National Youth Service Corps management now gives considerations to posting corps members to their geopolitical zone, thus defeating one of the objectives of setting up the service corps, i.e. developing common ties among the Nigerian youths and promoting national unity and integration.”
But the Minister insisted, “The NYSC scheme remains one of the greatest tools for National development for our youth. The commitment of the government to sustaining the NYSC scheme remains.
“Dynamic Reforms and Initiatives towards current realities are ongoing. Nigeria will stand with her youth.”
