Read Why NYSC May Soon Be Voluntary

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged that his administration will
take all necessary actions to maintain and improve the National Youth
Service Corps scheme as a functional vehicle for the promotion of
national unity and integration.

The Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, told the
President that there are plans to make the scheme voluntary so as to
reduce the corps population and sustain it.

The president affirmed his confidence and trust in the scheme, saying
that the objective for which the scheme was established in 1973 was
still very relevant for national development.

He said:

I firmly believe in NYSC and I think it should remain a national
programme to promote integration.

Whenever I go home to Daura, I look out for corps members from Lagos,
Aba and other parts of the country.

I am always thrilled to learn that except for the NYSC, some of them
have never left their states of origin to visit other cities in the
country.

Ms. Jimeta had informed the president that the increasing number of
NYSC members was a challenge to the scheme due to dwindling revenue
from the national budget to cater for their needs.

She also told the president that the annual enrollment of corps
participants had increased from 2,364 at inception in 1974 to 229,016
in 2014.

She added that "given the increasing number of tertiary institutions,
our projection is that the number of participants may rise to 300,000
by year 2020″.

-Premium Times