Govt orders NYSC to mobilise all eligible graduates
From Mathias Okwe, Abuja

FOR graduating students in Nigeria's tertiary institutions and their parents came cheering news yesterday from the Presidency that they will all be mobilised for the forth-coming National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Batch B 2007.

Minister of Youth Development, Akinlabi Olasunkanmi at a press conference in Abuja attended by the Director-General of NYSC, Brig.- Gen. Yusuf Bomoi, said he was announcing President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's directives on the development.

"There will be no selective service and Nigerians and all stakeholders should be rest assured that all eligible graduands will be mobilised for all this important national scheme.

"It needs to be noted too that the administration of His Excellency, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is doing everything possible to restore normalcy in the mobilisation of our graduates for the service,'' he added.

Bomoi revealed that arrangements were at top level with the Federal Ministry of Finance to release the money needed for the mobilisation of all the eligible graduands.

Olasunkanmi said: "I am happy to inform you that this problem has now been sorted out in a stakeholders' meeting involving my Ministry; Ministry of Education; the Vice Chancellors and heads of tertiary institutions.

"I want to categorically say that no eligble graduand who is due for mobilisation for the service will be denied this unique opportunity and the fund required for the mobilisation of the next batch is already being taken up with the government."

The minister added: "It might interest you to know that upon my assumption of duty a few days ago, I have taken up this matter with the Director-General of NYSC and with the Ministry of Finance and I want to reassure parents, graduates and stakeholders that the last batch of corps members for this year will be mobilised for the commencement of the service before the end of the year."

The Minister expressed thanks to members of the public and the media for taking up the matter for public debate.

He announced that his Ministry would soon convoke a stakeholders' summit on the NYSC scheme to comprehensively address the much-expected reform of the scheme.

"The national consensus, going by editorials and expert opinions, is that the service is due for reform. The stakeholders' summit will address the totality of needed reforms, including amendment to the enabling Act which was first enacted in 1973. Nigerians should be assured that the planned reorganisation and re-adjustment will strengthen the scheme to meet the aspirations of the founding fathers and Nigerians in general," the Minister reassured.

Meanwhile, Bomoi yesterday explained that the shortfall in revenue expected for the mobilisation of the students arose from the unco-ordinated and zigzag nature of the Nigerian educational system since school calendars are not uniform.

He said: "The problem arose from the unco-ordinated system of our tertiary institutions in the country. Some schools sent in their lists after our budget had been prepared and approved."

He continued: "Morever, for sometime now we have detected that schools mobilise fake corps members. For instance, one school alone last year mobilise about 1,000 fake corps members. And for every corps member mobilise, we spend about N129,000. That is why we need a lot of time to ensure that all students mobilised are genuine corps members."