The House Committee on Youth Development, Federal House of Representatives, has began full-scale review of the Social Investment Programmes, SIP, to pave way for automatic absorption of all corps members upon completion of their one year mandatory service.
Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Adeyemi Adaramodu, disclosed this when he led other members of the committee on an oversight visit to the NYSC orientation camp in Wannune, Tarka Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue state explaining that the review would further create room for more intake of other youths to reduce high rate of unemployment among Nigerian youths.
Adaramodu intimated that they were at the Benue Camp to see things for themselves following series of stories in recent times concerning the bad condition of the camp, saying that out of the 37 camps in Nigeria, Benue was one of the two camps they have chosen to visit to assess their facilities.
He said there was need for government to address the issue of infrastructure deficit at the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Orientation Camp in the state.
He explained that the youths development committee was committed and focused towards changing the narratives and belief that it was only those with “backbones” who could gain employment in Nigeria.
The chairman assured that henceforth, all the stratas of organizations that youth of Nigeria are going to benefit in terms of employment would be seriously and closely checkmated to ensure that no Nigerian youth was denied of any right.
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“We are going to pock-nose and make sure that it is the youths that don’t have people to give them letters to offices that would gain employment. The tomorrow of our youth must start now and those of us that are already spending our tomorrow, we must make sure that we create space for the youths.
“Therefore, the era of young graduates who usually looked up to the north, east, south and west struggling to get a job after one year NYSC scheme, would surely become a thing of the past with the review of the SIP.
“Even the N-power scheme shall critically be reviewed. We want to make it more powerful that it can empower more youths. We want to assure you that we have become partners in progress.
As young adults, you have learnt a lot about so many trades while on camp. I want to beseech you, not to let the ideas depart from you after the camping, and when you leave NYSC scheme, don’t make yourselves second hand value”, he advised.
He advised organisations to desist from rejecting corps members saying that anywhere any corps member was posted to, he or she should be absorbed and allowed to serve in such places as there was no provision for rejection of corps members.
While commending the effort of the state government towards the management of the camp, Mr. Adaramodu appealed to the state governor to approve monthly stipend for corps members serving in the state as a way of complementing federal government’s effort and assisting corps members not to totally rely on federal government’s stipend.
Earlier, state coordinator of NYSC, Mr. Shicha Simon, thanked the members for their visit saying that the camp had been on a smooth sail since inception while the management was constantly conscious of the high premium placed on the welfare and development of the fresh graduates.
