The Federal Government says it plans to empower at least 5,000 Corps members with N10 million each to fund their entrepreneurial ventures upon passing out of the NYSC scheme, bringing the total budget to N50 billion.

The Minister of Youth Development, Dr Jamila Ibrahim, revealed this on Monday in Abuja, during the opening ceremony of the maiden meeting of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) management with heads of Corps Producing Institutions (CPI) in Nigeria.

According to her, this is in line with the proposed NYSC reforms which will take place soon, adding that it was different from the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund programme for 2024.

“I will be inaugurating a team to undertake the review, restructuring and reforms of the NYSC.

“The thrust of these reforms will be centred on imbuing participants with an entrepreneurship mindset and making skills development the core of the programme.

“Though that is already part of the objectives carried out by the scheme, the aim is to partner with it to strengthen the mandate.

“How do we make the scheme more efficient, more effective and more beneficial to both the nation and the Corps members?

“So, we envision a future where the NYSC programme is not only self-sustaining, but also a revenue generating programme within the next five years.

“To achieve this, we will institutionalise the NYSC ventures as an investment and asset management outfit,” she said.

The minister said that this would enable the Federal Government to leverage and properly manage the vast assets of the NYSC and make strategic investments in various sectors.

She listed the sectors to include agriculture, manufacturing, garment making, communication and Digital Banking.

She said that the initiative underscored the commitment of the present administration to invest in youth-led entrepreneurial ventures as a step towards youth contribution to Nigeria’s journey towards a trillion dollar economy.

“The National Youth Skills programme will play a pivotal role in these reforms. While typically a 12-month programme this year, we’ll start a six months abridged version.

“We expect the ventures funded to emerge from this programme in various strategic sectors driving innovation and economic growth,” she added.

Ibrahim urged the participants, as the custodians of higher education in Nigeria, to bear the profound responsibility of nurturing the intellectual, moral and civic capacity of the nation’s youth.

The Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, said that the decision to initiate the direct interface with Vice-Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts came as a result of the scheme’s desire to elicit more decisive actions regarding the roles of their institutions in the mobilisation process.

He said that the meeting was aimed at creating strategies for the elimination of identified flaws and ensuring a more seamless mobilisation process.

“Over the years, we have thoroughly examined the process and identified avoidable problems while constructive engagements with relevant stakeholders have led to a number of resolutions aimed at addressing them.

“However, some CPIs are not doing enough on the implementation of these decisions.

“We have also observed that the delegation of the roles of principal officers of some institutions to their subordinates is partly responsible for the shortfalls and abuses that have bedeviled the mobilisation process, including the presentation of unqualified persons for enlistment.

“I am, therefore, confident that this meeting will elicit greater commitment from these highly respected stakeholders,” he said.

While declaring the meeting open, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, said the need for adoption of innovative strategies to surmount challenges and enhance best practices for the engagement of young graduates in national development efforts could not be over-emphasised

Wike, represented by the Mandate Secretary, Women and Children Affairs, FCT Administration, Mrs Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, added that it was gratifying that the scheme was focused on enhancing the efficiency of its operation.

This, he said, was through the adoption of technology-driven approaches in data collation and processing for mobilisation and deployment purposes.

“I encourage you to continue to optimise the IT solutions for accuracy and greater efficiency. I am aware that this meeting is maiden and a crucial step in addressing critical issues pertaining to the effective implementation of operational policies of the scheme.

“I commend the decision of the NYSC to periodically bring critical stakeholders together for brainstorming on the best strategies for greater success, which aligns perfectly with the contemporary global best practices for achieving desired results,” he said.

The minister urged them to participate actively and offer insightful contributions, adding that he was confident that the all-important engagement would pave way for a more responsive, efficient, and impactful NYSC. (NAN)