Politics
PROMINENT civil rights advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) said the recent claim by the current minister of Youth Ms. Jamila Bio-Ibrahim that her office will transform the National Youth Service Corps scheme into a revenue-generating agency is incorrect because as far back as the year 2020/2021, Nigerians were unambiguously informed by the NYSC’s management that it had remitted humongous amount of cash into the federation account.
HURIWA has however applauded the minister of Youth Jamila Bio-Ibrahim for her recent initiative to partner actively with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to wage unprecedented and strategic anti-hard drugs campaign and to enlighten Nigerian youths on the dangers of consumption of illicit substances and serial abuses of hard drugs. HURIWA said the move by the youthful minister of the Federal ministry of youth development Miss Jamila Bio-Ibrahim to campaign vigourously against yourhs’ involvement in drugs, is forward thinking and beneficial to the corporate entity of Nigeria and will protect the National security interest since hard drugs addiction contributes significantly to the heightened state of insecurity.
On the public statement through a television interview that NYSC is to be transformed into a revenue-generating institution, the Rights group said that the claim is a stale news because since the tenure of the then charismatic Director General of NYSC Major General Shuaibu Ibrahim, the NYSC made tremendous efforts to establish profitable commercial Ventures that transparently yielded huge revenues that were remitted into the federation account.
The then Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, had disclosed that it remitted over N1billion revenue into the federation account between 2020 and 2021.
He said the sum was generated through its various ventures located in various parts of the country.
The DG made the disclosure when Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Professor Tijjani Muhammad Bande, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
The NYSC Ventures were created in 2012 as veritable platforms for the training and mentoring of Corps Members for the development of entrepreneurship spirit and contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, thus ensuring self-reliance.
The NYSC Ventures were created in 2012 as veritable platforms for the training and mentoring of Corps Members for the development of entrepreneurship spirit and contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, thus ensuring self-reliance.
This involves the production of Corps Members’ Kits and other supplies to Orientation Camps nationwide.
These include the scheme’s Garment factories located in Minna, Niger State and Mgbaku, Anambra State, rice Mill in Ezillo, bakery and Water Factory, located in Kubwa, Abuja, Feed Mill in lpaja, Lagos State as well as the NYSC Entertainment Company Limited, which comprises the NYSC Nationa! Band, NYSC National Troupe and the NYSC Movie had been registered.
While also speaking on other notable achievements of the Scheme, he disclosed the completion of its North-West and South-West Zonal Skill Acquisition Centres and commencement of work in the North Central.
He further noted that the process of establishing the NYSC Radio was at an advanced stage.
The Rights group therefore said that HURIWA as one of the few credible civil rights groups that supports the NYSC, it is shocking that the cabinet level official of government doesn’t have the historical records about an agencyvof government under ger purview by announcing plans to reform the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to make it a revenue-generating agency when in actual fact the NYSC has crossed that threshold since the year 2020/2021.
HURIWA recalled that the Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim who made the disclosure while speaking in an interview also explained that the Federal Government was working on reforming the NYSC scheme to reflect the present realities of the nation.She further explained that they all understand that resources were dwindling, stressing that they would find innovative ways of ensuring that corps members’ welfare is well-taken care of.
According to her, “The reforms will transform the NYSC into a revenue-generating agency and prepare the corps members for the job market and to be decently and gainfully employed or to be employers of labour through entrepreneurship all the support they need in that career path.”
She noted that corps members were no longer posted to states deemed unsafe in the wake of worsening insecurity in the country, adding that the security of corps members required collaboration with other agencies of government.
HURIWA which emphatically stated that the Minister’s announcement was incorrect, has however canvassed the signing of the bill by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps scheme’s YOUTH TRUST FUND to create seed money for corpers who gain skills whilst serving to start up their independent business Ventures and become both job and wealth creators. HURIWA commended the Ministers of Youth development for their remarkable zeal to work hard to reposition the ministry just as the group applauded the President for appointing them in the first place because they are visionary.
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-February 6, 2024 @ 16:25 GMT|
Tags: Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim HURIWA Ms.Jamila Bio-Ibrahim National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NYSC Professor Tijjani Muhammad Bande UN
