A bill seeking to axe the 48-year-old National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme has passed first reading, as the sponsor of the bill, Awaji-Inombek Abiante, cited the declining state of security in the country.
He said that the purpose of the scheme – an instrument of harmonisation, following the 1967 civil war – had been defeated, as the country was besieged by insecurity.
On another note, Abiante mentioned that corp members took up jobs at workplaces that “have no bearing” on their acquired knowledge in higher institutions, leading to their unemployability.
The lawmaker said, “Due to insecurity across the country, the National Youth Service Corps Management now give considerations to posting corps members to their geo-political 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.
“Many corps members are being used by their employers for jobs that have no bearing on the skills acquired at institutions of higher learning, thus making them unemployable after their service year.
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“The available camp facilities/officials are grossly inadequate to contain the number of Nigerian graduates participating in the scheme, thus creating unpleasant situations to the corps members during the orientation programme.”
The proposed bill seeks to repeal Section 315(5a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), noting that “Nothing in this Constitution shall invalidate the following enactments, that is to say: the Public Complaints Commission Act; the National Security Agencies Act; the Land Use Act and the provisions of those enactments shall continue to apply and have full effect in accordance with their tenor and to the like extent as any other provisions forming part of this Constitution and shall not be altered or repealed except in accordance with the provisions of Section 9(2) of this Constitution.”
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