The Senate has passed the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Trust Fund Bill.
Sponsored by Senator representing Ekiti South and Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, the Bill seeks to provide a sustainable source of funds for the NYSC, skill acquisition, training and empowerment of Corps members, training and retraining of the personnel of the scheme, development of camps and NYSC formations and facilities, if signed into law.
Adaramodu while presenting Lead Debate on the Bill declared that it will help make graduates acquire skills under the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programmes.
He noted that the NYSC Trust Fund Bill will ensure the development of Corps members and improve their welfare as well as enhance same for the NYSC personnel.
He said: “The early years of the National Youth Service Corps which was established May 1973, that’s 51 years ago, this is going to be the first attempt at making sure that the Act that established the National Youth Service Corps is dealt with to ensure and afford Nigerians to benefit from why the NYSC was established.
“The management of the scheme has not only trained and empowered Corps members but has instilled patriotism and the spirit of Nationalism in Corp members since then.
“The decision to establish the National Youth Service Trust Fund was conceived by some of the stakeholders which includes the 36 state governments and the FCT administration. The idea to establish the trust fund was also strongly supported by Civil Society Organisations,” he said.
Speaking with journalists after plenary on the strategic importance of the Bill, the Senate spokesperson, expressed the hope that if signed into law, the Fund would not be subjected to abuse like the other existing social interventions programmes.
“The structure of the Fund does not give room for that kind of sleaze so to say. It can never give room for it, because there is strata and apart from having that strata, there is going to be checks and balances and not only that, this is a scheme for young adults of Nigerians and in fact, part of the young adults will be represented on the Board of Trustees that will be formed when it comes into practice.
“So definitely, it’s not going to be. Then, the structure of the NYSC as it is now, there is little changes only for trustees’ members and then even procurement.
“Procurement is not going to be solely done by even the DG. So, it’s not going to be something that several others will be part of. And then all the states of the Federation will be part of and then all the strata of our governance will be part of – governors, local governments, CSOs will be part of.
“So, when we put all these array of a collage of interests, when we put them together like that then you can just trust that, it’s not going to go the way of whatever you call it. Well, I don’t know even the way N-power has gone because I am not a beneficiary of N-power and not one of the proponents of N-power, but all I know is that, it’s not going to be in the structure of N-power even if anything happens there, which I don’t know,” Adaramodu added.
