Video: FG to replace NYSC khaki with locally made adire
National Youth Service Corps NYSC
Abdullateef Fowewe
The Federal Government has announced plans to replace the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) traditional khaki uniform with locally produced Adire fabric and to overhaul deployment practices so corps members are posted in line with their fields of study.
Minister of Youth Development Ayodele Olawande made the disclosure on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television, saying the switch to Adire is intended to boost local manufacturing and ensure government spending supports the Nigerian economy.
“It’s Adire. So, Adire is being produced in Nigeria. We have them in Ogun, we have them in Kwara, we have textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country,” Olawande said.
Olawande said the new NYSC framework will increasingly post graduates according to the processes they followed in camp and their professional qualifications.
Under the proposed change, education graduates, for example, would be posted to schools because their camp activities and training align with that sector.
“After you are leaving the camp, you are not just posted to a school just because NYSC wants you to be in school but because of the process you followed when in camp.
“So, that is going to give a framework of where you are going to be posted to,” he said.
On security-sensitive postings, the minister explained the government is considering deploying prospective corps members to areas where they studied and are already familiar with the environment.
He said the approach would reduce parental concerns and make deployment more practical, while still allowing volunteers to opt for placements in regions such as the North-East.
“If you have interest that you want to go to the North-East why not, but if you don’t have interest, instead of redeploying you, paying people for camp, doing all those funny things, we said no, let us look at it and say who are those in that area, that can reside in those geographical areas and still give us the kind of number we are looking for since we are saying NYSC should be more impactful. So, that is what we are talking about,” he said.
The minister also addressed reports that the military would be removed from the NYSC, calling such claims a misconception.
The reforms follow the Federal Executive Council’s approval on Monday of a comprehensive overhaul of the scheme — the first major revision since NYSC’s establishment in 1973.
As directed by the council, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development will amend the NYSC Act and its regulations to reflect the changes.
The approved framework provides that operational leadership of the scheme will be headed by a civilian while the military will continue to provide security support for corps members nationwide.
