A coalition of religious groups and civil society organisations (CSOs) has lauded the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government for being youth-friendly and consistently making efforts towards building lasting legacies for the Nigerian youth, citing the NYSC Trust Fund as the greatest of them all.
In a press statement signed by the trio of Bishop Abel Kings (College of Bishops); Sheikh Shehu Auwal Musa (College of Imams); and Comrade Solomon Semaka (CSOs), respectively and made available to journalists in Abuja, Friday, the coalition said the NYSC Trust Fund is one of few bills that have received the greatest support from all stakeholders, a pointer to its acceptability as could be seen in its speedy passage.
“The NYSC Trust Fund is one of the few bills passed by the National Assembly that received the highest number of memoranda from the public in support of its passage. This mass appeal towards the bill points to the acceptability of the trust fund chiefly because of the role the NYSC scheme has played in shaping the Nigerian economy and the lives of the average Nigerians amidst scarce resources.
“The Trust Fund therefore comes handy in consolidating funding lacuna in order to actualise the vision and mission of the scheme especially in the area of job creation and skill acquisition,” the statement noted.
Noble as this bill is, the coalition noted with dismay the recent antics of those they described as enemies of Nigerian youth, who have started spreading falsehood in apparent attempt to discredit the bill and subject Nigerian youth to perpetual unemployment and idleness.
The coalition further said that, with presidential assent, NYSC will be better positioned to deliver world class skill acquisition and entrepreneur centres across the country to fight unemployment and grow the economy.
“It has come to public knowledge that those who choose not to acknowledge the modest legacies this administration is leaving behind in the various sectors of Nigerian society, especially in the area of youth development, have deemed it fit to attack and bring to disrepute, the impeccable image of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and by extension the Trust Fund, without which the scheme will be bankrupt and unable to meet its obligation to Nigerian youths in the nearest future owing to the increasing number of youths enrolling annually. It is our position that this scheme has benefited every Nigerian and family, therefore, anybody trying to tarnish the image of the scheme is out for mischief and must not be taken seriously”, the statement added.
The coalition equally described as a bare-faced assault, allegations linking the new Director General of NYSC, Brigadier General Mohammed Fadah, with the President of the Senate and calling him a stooge planted to siphon funds meant for the scheme for political gains is highly unfortunate.
“The spurious allegations purportedly linking Brigadier General Mohammed Fadah, the current Director General of NYSC with Senate President and calling him a stooge is very unfortunate. This bare faced assault against the new DG can only be characterised as normal and expected given the commitment of the new DG to sustain the numerous policies already in place at NYSC.
“To further insinuate that funds accruable to the NYSC Trust Fund will end up in people’s pockets if the bill is assented by Mr. President is the most ridiculous anybody can make.
“To dare make such unfounded claims against an institution that has operated for more than four decades without any verifiable financial scandal is very unfortunate,” the statement added.
