Insecurity: NYSC to stop posting corps members to ‘unsafe states’
In response to the escalating security challenges in the country, the Federal Government has announced that National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members will now be exempt from deployment to states considered unsafe.
This decision comes amid growing concerns over the safety of corps members, following several abductions in different parts of the country during their mandatory one-year national service.
The Minister of Youth, Jamila Ibrahim, assured that the NYSC has implemented measures to protect its members, including the strict policy of posting them exclusively to states with confirmed safety.
This move aims to address the apprehensions surrounding the sustainability of the NYSC programme amidst the prevailing security conditions.
“As an immediate intervention of the government and the NYSC as an agency, we have actually stopped posting corps members to the very unsafe states,” Jamila said on Channels Television’s current affairs show Sunday Politics.
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“We have been doing it. We have been doing it in the past. There are states we have not been posting corps members to to ensure their safety,” she added.
According to her, the security of corps members requires collaboration with other agencies of government.
“When it comes to security matters, it is a multi-sectoral approach. So, it is not the NYSC alone and the ministry that is involved. We are working with security outlets to ensure corps members are safe,” the minister maintained.
“We are also working on group transportation strategies for them to ensure that they are transported to and from camps safely and to their destinations.”
The minister said the Federal Government is working on reforming the NYSC scheme to reflect the present realities of the nation, particularly in the area of their allowance.
“When it comes to remuneration, we are looking at the holistic funding of the NYSC. You are all aware that we have announced a reform of the NYSC scheme itself. We want the scheme to go beyond being a social programme of the government.
“The reforms will actually transform the NYSC into a revenue-generating agency and prepare corps members for the job market,” she said.
