From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The management of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) has issued fresh threats to all the Corps Producing institutions to desist from mobilising unqualified graduates for national services or face severe sanctions.

Director General of the scheme, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, issued the threat in his welcome address at the opening ceremony of the 2021 Batch ‘C’ Pre-Mobilization Workshop on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that though there have been renewed dedication by the Students Affairs and Data Entry Officers in various Corps Producing Institutions, few acts of commission and omission are still noticeable.

His words: “In recent times, the NYSC has faced challenges occasioned by the presentation of unqualified graduates for national service. Given our determination to eliminate all forms of sharp practices, I am delighted to note that noticeable improvements have been recorded in data integrity.

“Indeed, the renewed dedication by the Students Affairs and Data Entry Officers in various Corps Producing Institutions has been quite encouraging. Notwithstanding the above successes, however, few acts of commission and omission are still being noticed. We will, therefore, not hesitate to apply the necessary sanctions on erring institutions and/or officials to serve as deterrent to others.

“While, management remains deeply committed to the success of the mobilization process, we expect other stakeholders to live above board in the discharge of their responsibilities,” he said.

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Speaking further, the DG said: “Distinguished participants, as stakeholders in the NYSC project, you will agree with me that the continued relevance of the scheme is indisputable. The ongoing reforms in the mobilization process and other aspects of our operations are, therefore in line with our quest to sustain this relevance.

“As critical partners, your support for the success of the reforms cannot be overemphasised. This informs the choice of the theme of this workshop: ‘enhancing stakeholders’ roles for a credible mobilization process’. It is our hope that the workshop will lead to increased synergy for continuous improvement in the mobilization process.

“I wish to express profound appreciation to the FCT administration for its continuous support for the Scheme. We also thank our partners for support over the years,” he said.

Declaring the one-day workshop open, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mohammed Bello, lauded the impact of the Scheme in the development of FCT.

Represented by the Acting Secretary, Social Development Secretariat of the FCT, Dr Kevin Ike, he said: “The FCT Administration is also proud to acknowledge that our modest achievements as a government is attributable to the cooperation and support from others, including the services rendered by the Corps members deployed to the territory.

“I therefore, assure you that the administration will continue to partner the scheme for the successful implementation of its lofty programmes. I have been informed that the Pre-mobilization workshop, which is a crucial aspect of the mobilization process of NYSC is a forum where the scheme, Corps Producing Institutions (CPIs) and other stakeholders stakeholders strategize for continuous improvement of the exercise,” he noted.