Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Musa Bello, says that the credibility of the NYSC mobilisation process is crucial to the deployment of qualified corps members in all sectors of the economy.
He said this on Tuesday in Abuja, while declaring open the maiden meeting of Management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with Registrars of Corps Producing Institutions in Nigeria.
Bello was represented by the Secretary, Social Development Unit, Hajiya Hadiza Kabir.
He said that the role of registrars was important in the stability of the nation’s citadels of learning, and midwifing of qualified graduates for enlistment into the NYSC.
Bello also drummed support for the proposed NYSC Trust Fund Bill which had passed the third reading at the National Assembly.
“It is heart-warming to note that the legislative processes on the Bill for the establishment of the fund are at an advanced stage.
“I am confident that the fund, when operational, will not only enhance the operations of NYSC but also help to empower our graduate youths through entrepreneurial engagements.
“I, therefore, appeal to the appropriate authorities to help in hastening the remaining processes for the benefit of our youth, and the entire nation,” he said.
In his address of welcome, the Director-General of NYSC, Maj.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim said that there were 2,955 active Corps Producing Institutions on the NYSC database, out of which only 320 were home-based.
According to him, the meeting was aimed at seeking ways to eliminate increasing flaws in the NYSC mobilisation process.
He added that gaps had already been identified with some resolutions reached on how to eradicate recurrent challenges, but that implementation had been elusive.
“Thus, the agenda for today’s meeting is encapsulated in the theme; ‘Appreciating the Role of Registrars as Fulcrum in the Mobilisation Process.’
“It is drawn in the recognition of the pivotal position of school registrars in the formulation and implementation of policies.
“In schools where registrars have abdicated their roles to subordinate officers, we have seen various forms of abuses and shortfalls,” he said.
According to him, the abuses and shortfalls have given rise to the occasional mobilisation of unqualified persons, many of whom have been detected and fished out by NYSC field officers.
He said that the scheme was now more determined to tighten loopholes and commence the prosecution of anyone found complicit in the mobilisation of unqualified persons.
The Director, Corps Mobilisation, Mrs Victoria Ango, said that the mobilisation of youth corps members was a coordinate function that must be free from all forms of defects to guarantee the desired outcome.
She also said that the recent decision to stop individual evaluation from Cameroun, Togo, and the Benin Republic would hopefully control the problem of faking, which got to a ridiculous level in 2021.
The two-day meeting will close on Wednesday.