The Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has called for public support for the approval of the proposed NYSC Trust Fund to strengthen youth empowerment and entrepreneurship development across the country.
General Nafiu said the proposed fund would enable the Scheme to expand its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, providing corps members with start-up capital to establish businesses and create jobs.
This was contained in a statement on Saturday, by Caroline Embu, Director of Information and Public Relations.
He noted that the initiative would also help curb youth restiveness by engaging young graduates in productive ventures, reducing idleness and social vices.
The NYSC DG made the appeal during an appearance at the News Agency of Nigeria forum in Abuja.
He said the Scheme had remained committed to its mandate of promoting national unity, integration and socio-economic development since its establishment 53 years ago by the administration of General Yakubu Gowon.
According to him, the vision behind the creation of the Scheme after the Civil War has remained relevant, as NYSC continues to foster national unity through inter-tribal marriages, cultural integration and deployment of corps members to states outside their regions of origin.
He said the cross-cultural exposure had built lasting friendships and strengthened national cohesion among young Nigerians.
“The influence of the Scheme in relation to national unity, cohesion and socio-economic development cannot be underestimated,” he said.
The Boss added that the NYSC had embraced technological innovations to improve service delivery, including the introduction of electronic identity cards, digital record-keeping, online camp registration and enhanced information dissemination through social media platforms.
Speaking on the SAED initiative, he said the programme, introduced in 2012, was designed to strengthen Nigeria’s informal sector by equipping corps members with entrepreneurial skills.
He disclosed that over 500,000 corps members had registered businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission through the initiative, adding that its impact had been boosted by a recent Memorandum of Understanding with the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University.
The DG reaffirmed management’s commitment to seamless online registration for corps members and highlighted accommodation challenges in orientation camps as a key factor affecting deployment capacity.
He said state governments were statutorily required to provide and maintain conducive orientation camp facilities, noting that Enugu and Osun states were currently renovating their camps, while Lagos State was constructing a new orientation camp.
General Nafiu also reminded state governments of their responsibility to provide operational vehicles for state coordinators and subventions during orientation exercises, while local government councils were expected to provide corps lodges.
He said he had continued engaging stakeholders at all levels to ensure compliance with these obligations.
The NYSC boss appealed to student affairs officers in corps-producing institutions to promptly submit details of qualified graduates to avoid delays in mobilisation.
He also confirmed the Scheme’s readiness to comply with the Federal Government’s Nigeria Education Repository Databank policy for maintaining records of graduates.
On security, General Nafiu advised corps members to strictly adhere to travel advisories and avoid night journeys, lone movements and risky outings, noting that the NYSC had partnered with security agencies to ensure their safety during movement to orientation camps.
He added that all corps members were covered under the National Health Insurance Authority health package, which provides free medical treatment throughout the service year.
The Director-General further highlighted NYSC’s ventures, including farms, bread and water factories, garment production centres and other enterprise initiatives, as sources of internally generated revenue and practical vocational training.
He said the Scheme was also promoting a culture of savings among corps members through multiple streams of income.
“Entrepreneurship development enables them to develop themselves and also train others to acquire new skills towards self-employment,” he said.
General Nafiu added that the NYSC was continually sensitising corps members on responsible social media use, urging them to share positive content and avoid actions that could bring them into conflict with the law.