No NERD Certificate, No Mobilisation, NYSC Tells Prospective Corps Members

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has announced that prospective corps members without a compliance certificate from the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) will not be mobilised for national service.

The Director of Information and Public Relations of the NYSC, Caroline Embu, disclosed this in a statement on Monday, saying the directive is aimed at curbing certificate fraud and sanitising the mobilisation process.

She said the position was reiterated by the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, during the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Pre-Mobilisation Workshop held in Abuja, themed “Strengthening Institutional Accountability and Compliance in the NYSC Mobilisation Process for Effective Service Delivery.”

Nafiu called on Corps Producing Institutions (CPIs) to sensitise students and ensure strict compliance with the new requirement, stressing that mobilisation is a shared responsibility among institutions and relevant government agencies.

He urged regulatory bodies, security agencies and ministries to strengthen collaboration through policy guidance, capacity building and enforcement of compliance standards.

According to him, “When we work in synergy, we ease the path for our prospective corps members, ensuring that their transition from student to national service is smooth, transparent, and credible.”

He added, “Let us be bold in confronting the obstacles before us and creative in fashioning solutions that will stand the test of time. Let us build a more accountable, transparent, and efficient mobilisation process for the benefit of all.”

Earlier, the NYSC Director of Corps Mobilisation, Mrs Rachel Ideawor, described the workshop as a key platform for improving collaboration between the scheme and Corps Producing Institutions.

She noted that while progress had been made in the mobilisation process, more work was needed to improve efficiency across the system.

“I urge our Student Affairs Officers to approach their responsibilities with diligence and integrity, ensuring that the information provided accurately reflects the true profiles of prospective corps members,” she said.