Nigerian lawmakers assure early passage of NYSC Trust Fund bill

*Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, says the idea of NYSC Trust Fund arose as the NYSC Management move to seek out ways of improving the welfare of young Nigerians

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

Drafted to appreciate the numerous efforts of the national service scheme to improve  the welfare of the Nigerian youth, the House of Representatives in the National Assembly (NASS), Abuja, FCT, has assured Nigerians of its readiness to fast-track the proposed bill seeking the establishment of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Trust Fund (NYSCTF), when it is presented for debate.

ConsumerConnect gathered Hon. Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman House Committee on Youth Development, gave the assurance at a Symposium on the Imperative of the Proposed NYSC Trust Fund, in Abuja.

Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, Director-General of NYSC

The Federal legislator noted that the bill, if passed by NASS, will contribute in no small way to the numerous efforts of the NYSC scheme towards enhancing the welfare of the youths.

Hon. Adaramodu commended the virtues of Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, Director-General of NYSC, whom he noted has championed the cause to deposition the scheme, and take it to a height greater than he met it, agency report said.

Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, earlier in his opening remarks at the forum, enumerated the gains of the proposed bill.

He said that the symposium was aimed at generating ideas that would facilitate the actualisation of the bill for the good of young Nigerians on the national service scheme.

The idea of the Trust Fund, he noted, came up while the NYSC Management were deepening the search for ways of addressing challenges faced by the Scheme

Ibrahim stated: “It may interest you to know that the Federal Government bears the heavier cost of running the Scheme through feeding; medical services for Corps members and course officials during Orientation course; provision of other logistics for Orientation and post-Orientation operations; payment of Corps members’ monthly Personal Allowances; payment of Transport Allowances, provision of Corps members’ kit items; Insurance of Corps members as well as Staff welfare and training, among others.

“On the other hand, Section 7, Sub-Sections 3 and 4 as well as Section 8 of the NYSC Act saddle States and Local Governments with complementary responsibilities such as provision of befitting Orientation Camps, accommodation for Corps members, office accommodation for the NYSC State Secretariats as well as Zonal and Local Government Offices, land for agriculture, release of State Subventions, security of Corps members and support for the Scheme’s Community Development Service.”

The NYSC Director-General said: “Over the years, the exponential rise in Corps population has brought with it the demand for commensurate allocation of resources. “While the State and Local Governments have demonstrated commitment to the discharge of their statutory obligations to the Scheme, other equally pressing needs seem to make the resource allocation inadequate.

“As a consequence, the Scheme contends with problems militating against its smooth operations, especially in the area of provision of start-up capital for Corps members trained during the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme (SAED), inadequate Orientation Camp facilities, inadequate accommodation for Corps members, non-release of State Subvention by some State Governments and dwindling support for the Community Development Service.

He added: “Since my assumption of office, I have made sustained advocacy engagement with stakeholders as part of my policy thrust. Amongst other steps, we convened a meeting of the NYSC Top Management with representatives of State Governments, Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria in 2019 and 2021.

“Part of the resolutions of the 2021 meeting is the proposal for the establishment of a dedicated fund that will be backed by law to complement resource allocation from the three tiers of government.

“The fund, which will be called the National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund (NYSCTF) is expected to strengthen the operations of the Scheme in the same manner the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, the Police Equipment Trust Fund and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund aid the operations of tertiary educational institutions, the Nigeria Police as well as the oil and gas industry respectively.”

When operational, Ibrahim noted that the bill would help to address infrastructural and other logistic needs for the smooth conduct of Orientation Courses, provision Corps Lodges, Corps Transit Camps as well as other essential facilities for the welfare of Corps members.

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