The Federal Government has approved a series of reforms for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), including plans to replace the scheme’s iconic khaki uniform with locally produced Adire fabric.
The reforms, approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), are aimed at boosting indigenous textile production, supporting local industries and repositioning the NYSC as a more skills-driven and economically impactful programme.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, disclosed the development on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television, saying the switch to Adire would ensure that government spending benefits Nigeria’s textile industry.
“It’s Adire. So, Adire is being produced in Nigeria. We have them in Ogun, we have them in Kwara, we have textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country,” he said.
Olawande also announced that corps members would henceforth be deployed more strategically, with postings increasingly aligned with their academic qualifications, skills and areas of expertise.
He said the current system, under which graduates are often posted without regard to their professional backgrounds, would be overhauled to improve efficiency and maximise the impact of the scheme.
“That after you are leaving the camp, you are not just posted to a school just because NYSC wants you to be in school but because of the process you followed when in camp. So, that is going to give a framework of where you are going to be posted to,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that the government is reviewing the deployment process to give greater consideration to security, particularly for corps members posted to areas affected by insecurity.
He explained that the proposed model would prioritise deploying corps members who are familiar with their assigned locations, a move aimed at addressing safety concerns raised by parents while improving administrative efficiency.
“If we have a particular area that is having insecurity, instead of probably forcing people or parents to start talking, we must also give them an opportunity that, ‘Okay, who are those in that area, that schooled in that area, that know much about that area?’”
Olawande, however, said the arrangement would remain flexible, allowing corps members who wish to serve outside their regions to do so.
“If you have interest that you want to go to the North-East, why not? But if you don’t have interest, instead of redeploying you, paying people for camp, doing all those funny things, we said no, let us look at it and say who are those in that area, that can reside in those geographical areas and still give us the kind of number we are looking for since we are saying NYSC should be more impactful.”