Weeks after a bill to scrap the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme scaled second reading, the Chairman House Committee on Youth Development, Mr Yemi Adaramodu, has given assurance that the program will continue.
Adaramodu, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said this at the unveiling of nine books on NYSC and a maiden NYSC film to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the scheme in Abuja on Thursday.
According to the lawmaker, sponsoring a bill on scraping the scheme should not rattle the agency because any member has the right to sponsor the bill at the National Assembly.
“But the Speaker, the rest of us, the leadership of the house believe in the scheme and the scheme has come to stay in Nigeria.
“So the scheme is going nowhere, nobody is scrapping it.
“I want to tell you that we are behind you, we are with you, we are for you, once you see us here, you should know that we are together and we are fully with you.
“Mr Speaker even said that I should felicitate the D-G and his team for this task and that he is very interested in getting the books,” Adaramodu said.
Prof. Okpeh Okpeh, President, Historical Society of Nigeria, while reviewing the books, said that he particularly liked the one titled ‘NYSC (1973-2020): Emergence, Growth, and Development.
Prof. Okpeh said that this was because even with the poor reading culture of Nigerians the pictures that accompanied the write-up were sure to attract people and encourage them to read.
The History scholar said that the NYSC scheme might not be putting money in the coffers of the Federal Government but the national integration it fosters can not be over-emphasized.
Gov. AbdullahiSule of Nasarawa State, who spoke in the same vain, said that he had headed many organizations that utilized the service of corps members, explaining that no amount of money can buy the unity that the scheme stood for.
While identifying with the virtues of the NYSC, Sule said it remained the only successful indigenous institution that brought Nigerian youth together to appreciate their diversities.
Gen. Yakubu Gowon, a former Head of State and founder of the NYSC scheme, who joined the programme via Zoom, said it was the only scheme that can tell people how important and crucial they are to the national integration and unity of Nigeria.
Gowon said that 48 years was a long time and lauded the successive leadership of the scheme for their invaluable contributions that have kept the scheme growing from strength to strength.
The books unveiled include NYSC (1973-2020) Emergence, Growth and Development; NYSC and National development; NYSC and Community development service in Nigeria.
Others are NYSC and election in Nigeria; NYSC and National integration; NYSC and Nigeria’s health sector; NYSC and the educational sector; NYSC and COVID-19 pandemic as well as NYSC and Skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development.
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