Minister of Youth Development Ayodele Olawande has urged the National Assembly to prioritize proposed reforms for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) alongside the state police bill.
Speaking on Channels Television on Thursday, Olawande emphasized that these updates are vital for readying young Nigerians for the workforce.
He noted that the reforms aim to shift the NYSC from a ceremonial tradition into a dynamic program focused on skill acquisition, career advancement, and job creation.
“It’s for me to go and prostrate to the National Assembly and make them see the urgency in this because this is not something you should delay.
“It is something that you should treat like state police. It is something that you should treat like other things, so that you can put it through,” he said.
The minister said the orientation camp would be redesigned into a six-week programme with greater emphasis on leadership, entrepreneurship and employable skills.
He explained that the first two weeks would focus on civic education, leadership, national values, personal development, teamwork, and physical and mental well-being.
He added: “The next two weeks would cover career mapping, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, basic accounting, business planning and access to finance.
“The final stage would be devoted to specialised training aligned with participants’ academic backgrounds and career interests.
“The final two weeks will be based on the core schemes and each core shall have its own defined curriculum on training frameworks.”
According to Olawande, corps members would be grouped into specialised streams covering agriculture and food security, health and social care, education, technology, legal and public service, security, environment and climate action, entrepreneurship, media, creative industries and paramilitary services.
He said private sector organisations, government agencies and professional bodies would complement the programme by providing industry-specific skills throughout the service year.
The minister also said the government plans to institutionalise specialization-based deployment through amendments to the NYSC Act to ensure corps members are posted according to their qualifications and competencies.
“After you are leaving the camp, you are not just posted to school just because NYSC wants you to be in school, but because of the process you followed in camp.”
Olawande also disclosed that the proposed new NYSC uniforms would be produced locally using indigenous fabrics as part of efforts to revive Nigeria’s textile industry and support local manufacturers.
“We have Akwete, we have Adire, we have the textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country.”
On when the reforms would begin, Olawande said implementation would be phased, with aspects that do not require legislative backing commencing ahead of amendments to the NYSC Act.
“We are looking at those ones that we can implement without the Act. We are looking at those ones that will wait for the Act, and we are pushing.”
The minister acknowledged that the reforms would take time but expressed confidence they would eventually be implemented.
Persecondnews recalls that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on Monday approved the first comprehensive reform of the NYSC since its establishment 53 years ago.
The restructuring is aimed at transforming the scheme into a productivity-driven institution focused on skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and youth employment.