President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in
Abuja pledged that his administration will take all
necessary actions to maintain and improve the
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme
as a functional vehicle for the promotion of
national unity and integration.


President Buhari gave the assurance after
receiving a briefing from officials of the Federal
Ministry of Youth Development led by the
Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Rabi Jimeta.
The President affirmed his confidence and trust in
the programme, saying that the objective for
which the scheme was established in 1973 was
still very relevant for national development now.


"I firmly believe in NYSC and I think it should
remain a national programme to promote
integration.
"Whenever I go home to Daura, I look out for
Corps members from Lagos, Aba and other parts
of the country.


"I am always thrilled to learn that except for the
NYSC, some of them have never left their states
of origin to visit other cities in the country,"
President Buhari said.


Mrs. Jimeta told the President that the increasing
number of NYSC participants posed a challenge
to the scheme due to the dwindling revenue, from
the national budget, to cater for their needs.
She told the President that the annual enrolment
of corps participants had increased from 2,364 at
inception in 1974 to 229,016 in 2014.


"Given the increasing number of tertiary
institutions, our projection is that the number of
corps participants may rise to 300,000 by year
2020,’’ she said.


The Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier-General
Johnson Olawumi, told the President that there
were plans to make the scheme voluntary and
reduce the corps population to make the
programme more sustainable.


Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
August 5, 2015



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Good one PMB, waiting for d new face of NYSC. Change is finally here!

Good one