The bill on the discontinuation of the National Youth Service Corps NYSC has reached the second reading at the Nigerian House of Representatives.
The bill titled the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Alteration Bill, 2020, was sponsored by a rep member Awaji-Inombek Abiante.
Hon. Abiante, in the explanatory memorandum of the proposal, listed the various reasons why the NYSC should be scrapped.
It read in part, “This bill seeks to repeal Section 315(5)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended) on the following grounds:
“Incessant killing of innocent corps members in some parts of the country due to banditry, religious extremism and ethnic violence; incessant kidnapping of innocent corps members across the country;
“Public and private agencies/departments are no longer recruiting able and qualified Nigerian youths, thus relying 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 gives considerations to posting corps members to their geopolitical zone, thus defeating one of the objectives of setting up the service corps, i.e. developing common ties among the Nigerian youths and promote national unity and integration.”
Recall that the the NYSC was established on May 22, 1973, under Decree No. 24 of 1973 during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.
The scheme was geared towards reconciling and reintegrating Nigerians after the civil war between July 6, 1967 and January 15, 1970.