NYSC programme may be scrapped as discontinuation bill enters second reading!

The National Youth Services Corp program (NYCC) might soon be crapped by the House of Representatives as the bill to discontinue the scheme enters its second reading.

The sponsor of the bill, Mr. Awaji-Inombek Abiante who represents Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency noted various reasons why the NYSC scheme should be scrapped.

“This bill seeks to repeal Section 315(5)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended) on the following grounds:

“Incessant killing of innocent corps members in some parts of the country due to banditry, religious extremism, and ethnic violence; incessant kidnapping of innocent corps members across the country;

“Public and private agencies/departments are no longer recruiting able and qualified Nigerian youths, thus relying heavily on the availability of corps members who are not being well remunerated and get discarded with impunity at the end of their service year without any hope of being gainfully employed”

“Due to insecurity across the country, the National Youth Service Corps management now considers posting corps members to their geopolitical zone, thus defeating one of the objectives of setting up the service corps, i.e. developing common ties among the Nigerian youths and promote national unity and integration.”

NYSC was established on May 22, 1973, under Decree No. 24 of 1973 for the promotion and integration of socio-cultural values among Nigerians on the back of the civil war that lasted between 1967 and 1970.