NYSC demobilises 54 unqualified graduates after tip-off from UNICAL VC

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has demobilised 54 candidates from the University of Calabar (UNICAL).

YD Ahmed, the NYSC director general, said this followed a tip-off from Florence Obi, the vice-chancellor of the university.

Ahmed spoke in Abuja on Sunday about the NYSC’s plan to prosecute candidates who were illegally mobilised into the scheme.

He said 54 corps members illegally mobilised by UNICAL have been ejected by the NYSC management to be prosecuted.

Ahmed said another 19 among them initially registered online for mobilisation but have been prevented from service.

He said four certificates of national service for other culprits were not produced by the scheme.

This is in addition to an earlier 101 certificates that were voided by the scheme, making a total of 178 cases.

Ahmed commended Obi for having earlier hinted to the NYSC on the mobilisation of unqualified graduates from her institution.

The DG said NYSC would leave no stone unturned in sanitising its mobilisation process.

“The vice-chancellor of the University of Calabar came here to report that she observed some names appeared on the institution’s list and they ought not to have been there,” he said.

“She checked the list the school gave us and I told her that their certificates would be invalidated. I give kudos to the Vice-Chancellor.

“Previously, a bread seller was mobilised on the graduation list from the same institution. There are bad eggs in many places that generate matriculation numbers and courses for their candidates.”

Ahmed said the NYSC would intensify its collaboration with all the heads of corps-producing institutions and relevant stakeholders in the country to stop the menace.

He added that any failure in the mobilisation process from any school falls on the integrity of the management of such an institution.

“Those who are responsible for imputing the data of graduates should be people of integrity.”