THE Acting Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mrs Christy Uba has called for a review of the allowance paid to corps members.
The Acting Director-General made the request during a courtesy visit by the Chairman of, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu.
Uba said corps members were eager to participate in the 2023 general election.
She described the meeting as timely, stressing that the NYSC was committed to the partnership.
In her words: “A lot has been achieved. The corps members are ready. The youths are very interested and it is expected that everyone that is part of the committee will go back and cross the t’s and dot the i’s. NYSC is committed to the partnership with INEC. We have come a long way and we cannot go back, a lot has been achieved.”
On the need for an increase of the allowance, Uba said it was in view of “the prevailing economic realities”.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that NYSC is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country.
There is no military conscription in Nigeria, but since 1973 graduates of universities and later polytechnics have been required to take part in the National Youth Service Corps program for one year.
This is known as national service year. Ahmadu Ali served as the first Director-General of the NYSC until 1975. The incumbent Director-General is Mohammed Kaku Fadah.
