By Ayobami Okerinde
President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s sweeping reforms of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), saying the changes are designed to equip young Nigerians with practical skills, improve employability and position them as drivers of national development.
In a post on his official X account on Wednesday, Tinubu described the reforms approved by the Federal Executive Council on Monday as the most significant since the NYSC was established in 1973.
According to the president, the overhaul fulfils a promise he made at his inauguration to create meaningful opportunities for young people and ensure they play a central role in his administration.
“On Monday, at the Federal Executive Council, our administration approved the most consequential reforms of the National Youth Service Corps Scheme since its establishment in 1973,” he said.
“On the day I was sworn in as your President, I promised to create meaningful opportunities for our young people. I said women and youth would feature prominently in our administration, and this reform is partly the actualisation of that promise.”
Tinubu noted that while the NYSC had served the cause of national unity for more than five decades, the country’s current realities require a broader mandate.
“Our young people are nearly 70 per cent of our population. They are not a burden to be managed… They are the engine of the one-trillion-dollar economy we are building and the hope of this nation.
“We are repositioning the NYSC from a mobilisation scheme into a national development platform for skills, employability, productivity and enterprise.”
Under the reforms, the NYSC orientation programme will run for six weeks, beginning with civic responsibility, leadership, values and personal development before progressing to career readiness, entrepreneurship, digital and financial literacy, and specialised training tailored to corps members’ academic backgrounds and career paths.
Tinubu said the specialised streams would cover agriculture, education, health, technology, law, public service, infrastructure, the green economy, enterprise, the creative industry and para-military and security services.
He also announced new measures aimed at improving the safety of corps members, saying deployment to security-challenged states would be based on risk assessments and prioritise indigenes, residents, graduates of institutions in those states and neighbouring states within the same geopolitical zone.
“Deployment to security-challenged states will be guided by risk assessment. It will prioritise indigenes, residents, graduates of institutions in those states and those from neighbouring states within the same geopolitical zones,” he said.
“The call-up process will become technology-driven and primary assignments will be better aligned with each corps member’s skills, academic background and career stream.”
The President further disclosed that the NYSC would now be headed by a civilian Director-General supported by three Executive Directors, including one from the military or paramilitary services responsible for security.
He added that orientation camps would be assessed under a national grading and certification framework, while the traditional Passing-Out Parade would be replaced with a Graduation Ceremony to reflect the expanded scope of the programme.
Tinubu said he had directed the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the Federal Ministry of Justice to begin the process of amending the NYSC Act and other relevant regulations to give legal backing to the reforms.
He also commended the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, his Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, the Federal Ministry of Education and members of the reform committee for their contributions.
Addressing young Nigerians, Tinubu said: “This nation believes in you. We are building a country worthy of your talent, your ambition and your future.”
