The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is to be restructured to meet the demands of the future, Youth Development Minister Jamila Bio-Ibrahim has said.

The minister said a team to undertake the review, restructuring and reforms of the NYSC would be inaugurated soon.

 

Bio-Ibrahim announced this yesterday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the maiden meeting of NYSC management with heads of corps producing institutions in Nigeria.

 

The minister also announced that over 5,000 corps members would have their entrepreneurial ventures funded with about N10 million.

 

She said: “Permit me to inform us very briefly on what is to come regarding the NYSC reforms. I’m pleased to announce that I will be inaugurating a team to undertake the review, restructuring and reforms of the NYSC. The first of these reforms will be centred on reviewing participants with an entrepreneurship mindset and making skills development a core of the programme.

 

“The NYSC already does that, but the objective is to work with them to strengthen that mandate they already have to be more efficient, effective and benefitting.

 

“So, we envision a future where the NYSC programmes are not only self-sustained but also revenue-generating within the next five years. To achieve this, we will institutionalise the NYSC ventures as an investment and asset management outfit.

 

“Furthermore, as part of the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund programme for 2024, I’m also pleased to announce that at least 5,000 corps members will have their entrepreneurial ventures funded with up to N10 million passing out.”

 

The Director General of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Yushau Dogara Ahmed, said the meeting was aimed at enhancing the mobilisation of prospective corps members.

 

Ahmed said the meeting, which was a follow-up to a previous one with heads of corps producing institutions in West Africa, aimed to evolve strategies for eliminating identified flaws and ensuring a more seamless mobilisation process.

 

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike lauded the decision of the NYSC to bring critical stakeholders together for brainstorming on the best strategies to adopt to achieve greater success.

 

The minister said the initiative aligned with the contemporary global best practices for achieving desired results.

 

Wike, who was represented by the Mandate Secretary of Women Affairs Secretariat at the FCT Administration, Mrs. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, said: “The NYSC has consistently symbolised our collective commitment to national development, unity and integration.”

 

Credit: thenationonlineng.net