The annual programme is held to commemorate the Independence Anniversary of the Republic of India, drawing participants from Europe, Asia, Africa and other continents.

This was contained in a statement signed by NYSC’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, on Saturday.

During a pre-departure briefing held at the Indian High Commission in Abuja, the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Y. D. Ahmed, expressed appreciation for the invitation extended to the scheme to participate in the programme.

The DG said the invitation, being the second one, was another opportunity for the scheme “to showcase the potential of the Nigerian youths while also giving participants the opportunity to understand the socio-economic similarities and differences between the two countries.”

Ahmed noted that Nigeria is a country with diverse cultures and that the Scheme was “always open to collaborating with agencies both within and outside the country, for the promotion of its objectives”.

The DG also said the ideas the Nigerian delegation would gain from the programme, especially from the Indian National Cadet Corps, would be applied to improve the NYSC programmes while congratulating the Corps Members on their nomination for the event, and enjoined them to be of good conduct in line with the core values of the scheme.

Speaking earlier, the Indian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Shri Balasubramanian, appreciated the contributions of the scheme to the development of Nigeria and revealed that its selection for participation in the Youth Exchange Programme along with other countries, was informed by its uniqueness as well as similarities with the National Cadet Corps of India.

While promising the corps members memorable and impactful experiences during the programme, the High Commissioner said India would be willing to learn from the scheme’s experiences.

He further expressed the pleasure of the Indian government with the last set of corps members who attended the country’s 75th Independence anniversary and urged the present set to emulate their predecessors, as all expenses for the trip would be catered for by the Indian Government.

“Balasubramanian admonished them to use the opportunity of the programme to make friends from across the globe and also explore the country’s rich cultural heritage, its historical sites, other issues of interest including Indian cuisines”, the statement also read.

This was disclosed by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, to our correspondent.

In a social media post on Wednesday, a corps member complained that NYSC members serving in Enugu State have not received their election allowance and would therefore not participate in Saturday’s governorship and state assembly election.

Responding, Oyekanmi said that funds were already with its state offices, urging the corps members to be patient with the entire process.

He explained that “Adequate provision has been made for all National Youth Service Corps members and other ad-hoc staff engaged for the 2023 General Election as per their allowances.

“In fact, at the Commission’s meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners on Monday, the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu told the RECs to ensure that all ad-hoc staff are paid all the allowances due to them. The funds for the allowances are already with our respective state offices. If there are delays in payment, it is likely to be due to minor administrative issues.

“We urge all corps members who were duly engaged who worked on Election Day and may have not been paid to please be patient. They will get their allowances.”

He said those to participate in the elections have already been trained by INEC officials both in and outside orientation camps, warning that they must not accept food from anybody.

“What I want to warn corps members about is that they should be careful in whatever environment they find themselves in. They should not accept any gift from any politician.

“They must not accept any food from anybody. As they go, they should carry at least their service support. Any form of gratification or gifts, we don’t expect any corps member to accept”, Ahmed.

The NYSC DG stated these in Abuja while speaking with journalists on the the preparedness of the organisation for the forthcoming general elections.

He said, “We have deployed over 200,000 corps members. Those who are participating in this election have already been trained. Some of them are trained outside the camps. Those who just passed out were trained by INEC officials in the camp. Proper training has been given to them, guidelines were given to them. They have been well informed and they are ready to give their best.”

According to him, the NYSC has put in place measures to ensure the security of corps members during and after the elections.

Ahmed said part of the efforts was meeting with heads of security agencies to ensure that they are secured.

He said, “What is fundamental for me to also mention is the security of these corps members. Since I took over, I have met with the IG of Police and the DSS. I have met with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, I have equally  met with INEC and every hand is on deck to ensure that the Corps members are secured

“We were assured by INEC that they will carry these corps members to their respective places of assignment and bring them back safely from wherever they are picking them from.”

The DG warned corps members against collection of any form of gratification from politicians during the election.

“On the welfare of these corps members, INEC has promised to provide them with sleeping kits and whatever they need for the elections.

When contacted, the NYSC spokesman, Eddy Megwa, simply asked our correspondent to wait for an official statement that would be issued on Friday.

The Cable, however, quoted sources saying the president’s decision was taken on Thursday.

Fadah’s removal comes only six months after his appointment as NYSC boss in May, 2022.

His plans for the NYSC at the time of his appointment included “improvement of security and welfare of corps members; enhancement of staff welfare; and improving the gains of NYSC ventures”.

Other areas in his plans  are “sustaining the digitisation of the operations of the scheme; and deepening NYSC’s impact on rural development through community development service”.

The Cable reported that Fadah was asked to hand over to the most senior official in the NYSC.

The official who takes over from him will act as DG pending the announcement of a new appointment.

Oyelere had acussed the NYSC of injustice, saying that his project was recommended for the Honours Award by the officials of the school where he carried out the project.

Oyelere’s Community Development Project was carried out while serving under the Ogun State Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Abeokuta South Local Government Area in 2019.

The ex-corps member had anticipated earning an honourary award over the developmental projects he carried out but was disappointed when he was not shortlisted

The Ogun State coordinator of NYSC, Belinda Faniyi, made the clarification on the controversy in a statement on Sunday.

The NYSC said the project of the ex-corps member, with the state code OG/18B/ 0065, did not merit the Honours Award.

Faniyi however described the ex-corps member’s project as innovative.

She said, “It is true that Mr. Akinkunmi Oyelere was a corps member who served from August 2018 to July 2019 in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Abeokuta. He embarked on only Personal Community Development Projects by training students of Lisabi Grammar School, Baptist Girls High School and Abeokuta Grammar School in craft and pottery.

Mr. Akinkunmi during his Service Year in Ogun State was a beneficiary of the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship training, where he further developed his skills in the area of craft and pottery.

“One of his innovations which he donated to the Scheme and he is being recognised for is a chandelier which he built out of used disposable cups. This artwork to date is displayed with his name at the NYSC Ogun State Skills Acquisition Centre Sagamu to promote and market his works.We want to set the records straight that NYSC is a dynamic and responsive organisation, which encourages corps members to develop their skills to become self-reliant and marketable and will not jeopardise any corps member’s chances for self-actualization.NYSC has a defined procedure and criteria for assessing and selecting corps members who distinguished themselves in the course of the Service Year for State Honours Award and this is not limited to personal Community Development Service alone.It is against this background that the ex-corps member Akinkunmi was not selected for the State Honours Award.”

This is coming as cases of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron has been reported.

A statement on Monday by NYSC Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Emeka Mgbemena, said the NYSC Director-General, Brig. Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim disclosed this in his nationwide virtual address to the 2021 Batch ‘C’ Stream Two Corps Members and Camp Officials.

He said, “From the next orientation exercise in 2022, all incoming PCMs will show evidence of vaccination before they would be allowed into the camp for registration.”

Ibrahim advised the corps members that would complete their orientation course on Tuesday (today) to acquire skills that would make them business owners.

He said the NYSC had partnered with several institutions like the Central Bank of Nigeria, Access Bank, Bank of Industry, NYSC Foundation, Heritage Bank and others to provide soft loans to corps members with good business proposals.

Ibrahim also warned them to avoid embarking on the night and unauthorised journeys.

Dare said this when responding to a question regarding the calls to scrap the NYSC scheme at the State House on Thursday.

The minister said the cancellation of the scheme at this point of Nigeria’s history will be like throwing the baby away with the bathwater, adding that some communities will not survive without Youth corps members.

He said, “The contribution of the NYSC scheme to national development and national unity has been audited. We have communities who wait for youth corpers every year to come and help them with their health facilities. We have the CDS programme. Multiple projects across communities are projects done by our youth corpers. And I don’t want to talk about the soft side of the NYSC; marriages, long-term friendships and the rest. We don’t throw such programmes away. The largest single concentration of Nigerian youths annually, 320,000, is the NYSC. Some communities will not survive without corpers,”

Ibrahim said this while addressing corps members during his visit to the Kubwa Orientation Camp, Abuja, on Monday.

In a statement signed by Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, the NYSC Director, Press, and Public Relations, Ibrahim said that the trust fund would also enable the scheme to maintain camp facilities nationwide.

The scheme proposed the establishment of a Trust Fund to support corps members engaged in the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programme with business start-up capital.

Unable to fund the “Trust Fund”, the scheme has been engaging stakeholders in various sectors, to explore the imperatives of establishing the fund with their support.

The scheme had also submitted a formal proposal to the Federal Government requesting its support for the initiative by presenting a bill at the National Assembly, on the establishment of an NYSC Trust Fund.

Ibrahim said  “Efforts are in top gear with other stakeholders for the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund. This is to make funds available to you as you exit the service, to establish businesses in line with the skills you acquired during the NYSC SAED programme. If actualized, the Trust Fund will also be used to build new orientation camps, expand the existing camps, maintain camp facilities among other priorities. I urge you to continue with the post-camp training of the NYSC SAED programme and strive to become employers of labour rather than seeking unavailable salaried jobs. You will be accessed in all the four cardinal programmes of the scheme before you will be presented for the NYSC President’s Honours Award. The programmes include orientation courses, primary assignments, community development services, and winding up and passing out. Grading for the award starts from the orientation camp which is the first point of call for all corps members. If you redeploy from one state to another or are caught with any infraction, you are not qualified for the award,”

The NYSC director-general advised corps members to accept their postings in good faith, settle down in their host communities and contribute their quota to national development.

He urged them to add value to their host communities by developing projects that would improve the standard of living of the residents.

Ibrahim warned corps members against inducing their posting and rejection, adding that anyone caught would be penalized in line with the NYSC bye-laws, just as the scheme frowned at corps members indulging in social vices such as cybercrime, cultism, drug peddling, and abuse.

He urged corps members to use social media wisely to promote the unity and integration of the country and not to promote fake news, because “the NYSC was established to promote national unity, integration, and cohesion.

“We must work and live together. Let us turn our challenges into opportunities. Wherever your find yourselves, preach the unity of the country,” the director-general said. (NAN)

Some sections of the media had reported on Thursday that a security advisory introduced in March 2021 by the scheme had asked serving corps members to inform their family members and friends before embarking on a road trip as this would enable them to prepare sufficient ransom that may be required if abducted and save them from untimely and brutal death in the hands of the violent criminals.

In a rebuttal shared on its social media handles, NYSC management denied this claim.

Read the rebuttal below

“The attention of Management of the National Youth Sevice Corps has been drawn to a fake release making the rounds on the social media to the effect that Corps Members travelling on “high-risk roads” should alert their families, friends and colleagues in order to have somebody to pay off the ransom that could be demanded in the event of being kidnapped. The management wishes to emphatically state that the clause quoted is not embedded in the NYSC Security Tips pamphlet which was put together by a highly respected retired security expert. The management wishes to appeal to the general public to always clarify issues with the Scheme. Please, be wary of falling prey to the antics of mischief-makers out to ridicule the Scheme. Management shall continue to prioritise the security and welfare of Corps Members and staff at all times.

Management”