Parents, Prospective Corps Members Fume As NYSC Mobilisation Backlog Worsens

As the 2026 Batch ‘A’ Stream II mobilisation by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) gears up, frustration is mounting among parents and Prospective Corps Members over persistent delays in getting Call-up Numbers despite registration.

Many graduates who completed online registration days ago are yet to receive their Call-up Numbers, LEADERSHIP has gathered.

This has left the affected Prospective Corps Members in a state of uncertainty and anxiety, raising concerns about the efficiency of the mobilisation process and the impact of the backlog on young Nigerians’ plans.

Parents, in particular, have expressed anger over NYSC’s lack of clear communication, lamenting the financial and emotional toll the delay is taking on the graduates.

For the graduates, many have expressed worry that the delay could affect their mandatory service period, which is a prerequisite for employment in both the public and private sectors.

LEADERSHIP reports that a Call-up Number is a unique identifier issued to each prospective corps member (PCM) by NYSC after they successfully register online.

Once registered, graduates log in to the NYSC portal to check whether their Call-up Number has been issued, which confirms they have been mobilised for the current batch.

For this batch, NYSC opened the mobilisation portal for online registration by both foreign- and locally-trained Nigerian graduates from 12th to 18th March 2026. Camps are expected to start in late April 2026.

Currently, NYSC can mobilise only about 450,000 corps members annually.

When asked about the recurring crisis of graduates’ backlogs, NYSC recently said the Federal Government had approved an additional 50,000 mobilisation slots to address the growing number of graduates awaiting national service nationwide.

The Director-General of the scheme, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, said the additional mobilisation slots were approved in the 2026 national budget following agitations by graduates who had waited long periods before being mobilised.

“In response to the agitation over long waits for mobilisation, Mr President graciously approved an additional 50,000 mobilisation slots in the 2026 budget,” Nafiu stated.

Despite this development, frustration continues to mount among parents and Prospective Corps Members who lament that, despite paying for online registration, the Call-up Numbers are still not provided.

A prospective Corps Member from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Cletus, said that after successfully paying for registration last year, he had not been given a call-up number.

“The government must treat the mobilisation backlog as an urgent national problem by expanding and upgrading orientation camps, and aligning mobilisation capacity with graduation output is no longer optional.

“Imagine spending over five years in university because of past ASUU strikes and waiting for another two to three years just to go and serve your country,” he said.

Another Prospective Corps Member at Yakubu Gowon University, Victor, urged the scheme to liaise with the government to provide adequate facilities across camps to accommodate more corps members.

“It’s not funny any more. The expectation is that, immediately after graduation, those qualified to serve should enter service. I think the NYSC needs to do more to increase camp capacity and work with the government to achieve that.

“On the other hand, some of our institutions need to do more by submitting names of their students on the NYSC portal in time for fast mobilisation,” he said.

Others have called on the scheme to adopt a first-come, first-served approach, urging it to give priority to corps members who missed out on service without issue before considering others.

An Abuja-based parent, Mrs Comfort Moji, whose son is in his final year at Yakubu Gowon University, said it was the joy of every parent to ensure that their child graduates and serves the country without wasting time.

She noted that parents’ complaints about NYSC not mobilising their wards despite online registration demand urgent attention.

“I won’t be happy as a parent seeing my child denied an opportunity to serve at once and focus on other things. The government needs to do better by providing facilities that accommodate more corps members in all the camps across the country,” she said.