The bill on the discontinuation of the National Youth Service Corps has reached the second reading in the House of Representatives.
Sponsored by the lawmaker representing Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State Awaji-Inombek Abiante, in the explanatory memorandum of the proposal, the bill recorded several reasons why the NYSC should put to an end.
It said the NYSC has led to the “incessant murder of innocent corps members in some parts of the country due to banditry, religious extremism and ethnic violence; endless kidnapping of innocent corps members across the country.”
“Public and private agencies/departments are no longer recruiting able and qualified Nigerian youths, thus depending heavily on the availability of corps members who are not being well remunerated and get discarded with impunity at the end of their service year without any hope of being gainfully employed.
“Due to insecurity across the country, the National Youth Service Corps management now grant considerations to posting corps members to their geopolitical zone, thus defeating one of the objectives of setting up the service corps, i.e. cultivating common ties among the Nigerian youths and promote national unity and integration.”
The bill is seeking the alteration of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Alteration Bill, 2020.
The youth service, which began on May 22, 1973, was established during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon under Decree No. 24 of 1973.
NYSC was inaugurated to reconcile and reintegrate Nigerians after the Nigerian civil war.