Buhari reveals plan to retain NYSC despite ‘dwindling funds’

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme as a functional vehicle for the promotion of national unity and integration.

He said his administration will take all necessary action to maintain and improve the scheme, noting that the objective for which it was established in 1973 is still relevant for national development.

According to Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Buhari made the remarks after receiving a briefing from officials of the ministry of youth development in Abuja on Wednesday.

“I firmly believe in NYSC and I think it should remain a national programme to promote integration,” he said.

“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.”

The officials were led by Rabi Jimeta, permanent secretary of the ministry.

Adesina said Jimeta told the president that the increasing number of NYSC participants posed a challenge to the scheme due to dwindling revenue from the national budget to maintain their needs.

She reportedly told Buhari that the annual enrolment of corps participants had increased from 2,364 at inception in 1974 to 229,016 in 2014.

“Given the increasing number of tertiary institutions, our projection is that the number of corps participants may rise to 300,000 by year 2020,’’ she said.

Johnson olawumi, director-general of NYSC, told the president that there were plans to make the scheme voluntary and reduce the corps population to make the programme more sustainable.