Reps member asks Tinubu to suspend NYSC reforms

A member of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, has asked President Bola Tinubu to suspend the implementation of the recently approved reforms to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), warning that some of the proposed changes could undermine the scheme’s core mandate of promoting national unity and supporting national defence.

Agbese, who represents Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State and serves on the House Committees on Youth and Defence, made the call in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

The lawmaker urged the president to constitute a broader committee comprising security experts, lawmakers, former NYSC officials, youth groups and other stakeholders to undertake a comprehensive review of the proposed reforms before they are implemented.

He said that although efforts to modernise the scheme were commendable, such reforms should not erode the founding ideals of the NYSC, which was established to foster national integration after the Nigerian Civil War.

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“The NYSC is a national institution that has played a critical role in fostering national unity and should not be restructured in a manner that compromises its founding ideals,” he said.

His comments followed the Federal Government’s unveiling of what the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, described as the first comprehensive review of the NYSC since its establishment in 1973.

Among the proposed reforms are the restructuring of the orientation exercise into three phases, the introduction of 11 specialised career streams from which prospective corps members would choose during registration, expansion of skills acquisition programmes, replacement of the traditional khaki uniform with locally made attire, and the appointment of a civilian as Director-General of the scheme in place of the current military leadership.

The proposals have attracted mixed reactions from stakeholders, with supporters describing them as necessary modernisation measures while critics argue they could weaken the scheme’s original objectives.

Agbese said reducing the NYSC to a skills acquisition programme would diminish its strategic national importance.

“Reducing NYSC to a skill acquisition training centre is not healthy for our national life,” he said.

He noted that beyond youth development, the scheme has over the years served as a strategic national institution by deploying corps members to support education, healthcare, elections and other national assignments during emergencies.

The lawmaker also opposed the proposal to place the scheme under civilian leadership, arguing that the military orientation of the programme has contributed significantly to discipline, patriotism and national preparedness.

“Instilling military training in citizens is an international practice that must be sustained,” he said.

The NYSC was established on May 22, 1973, by the administration of Yakubu Gowon as part of the post-civil war reconciliation programme to promote national unity, encourage cultural integration and bridge ethnic divides by posting graduates to states other than their own.

Over the years, corps members have played key roles in education, healthcare delivery, electoral services, community development and other government interventions across the country.

The current proposals are widely regarded as the most far-reaching reforms to the scheme since its establishment more than five decades ago.

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