The National Youth Service Corps has been
criticised for its online call-up letter, which
requires prospective corps members to pay
N4,000 to download a copy.
According to the President of Women Arise,
Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, charging a fee to
download call-up letters is like defrauding
Nigerian graduates.
The NYSC management had earlier defended
the fee, saying the online portal was designed
to safeguard the lives of intending corps
members and to eliminate forgery.
Defending the payment, the Director of Corps
Mobilisation in NYSC, Mr. Anthony Ani, had
said, “Before orientation, every prospective
corps member has to pass through a long
process, including travelling to collect call-up
letters. Sometimes many corps members
have died while travelling to get their call-up
letters, and most times, school officials may
not be there.
“Coming to camp, you meet long queues
during registration, while others bring fake
call-up letters. Some prospective corps
members change their dates of birth because
they want to serve and get discharge
certificates. Some institutions are admitting
students without passing through the Joint
Admissions and Matriculation Board and
enfolding them into unaccredited courses.”
However, Okei-Odumakin described the step
taken by the NYSC as exploitative.
She said, “I believe this is another avenue of
exploiting the already pauperised Nigerian
youths, who are daily being subjected to all
forms of exploitation without recourse to the
prevailing economic reality in our society.”
Similarly, a lawyer and social commentator,
Olufunke Oluwole, though commending the
NYSC’s initiative, said the fee should have
been less.
Oluwole said, “No, Nigerian should not be
cheated again by a parastatal coming up with
get-rich-quick schemes for enriching the
pockets of a few. The proposed payment is
unacceptable and we should, with one voice,
raise a standard against this kind of behaviour
rearing its ugly head again.
“I am appalled at the news that the NYSC
intends to charge a fee for downloads of call-
up letters. It is indeed reminiscent of the
Nigeria Immigration Scheme employment
saga that resulted in loss of innocent young
lives, a few months ago.”
The legal practitioner added that the NYSC
directive to prospective corps members “is an
obvious failure of the system to understand
that its processes and manner of application
are a function of its performance and such a
burden should not be passed to the
beneficiary at any point in time.”
Source-- punch newspaper

That fee is totally outrageous, 1k should be enough

That mind those people. They want to make money from graduate who have nt even start working. I don't know when NYSC became a profit making government agency.

Their Papa

Doesn't make any sense at all... Charging unemployment graduates to pay 4k for call up number/letter, how much is dere yeye allawee sef? Smh for dis country

high-handedness at its peak.. They keep telling us d reason is to avoid traveling and possible accident situations, but they refused to tell us why d fee is #4000