Youth coalition lauds NYSC Trust Fund, wants bill fastracked  

National coalition of youth from across Nigeria have hailed the proposed National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Trust Fund, noting that it would address infrastructural deficit, boost entrepreneurship and graduate employment across the country. 

Speaking under the aegis of Coalition of Ethnic Nationality Youth Leaders of Nigeria (CENYLON), a body of youth leaders from various ethnic groups in Nigeria, the youth said the NYSC scheme has played unquantifiable roles in promoting national cohesion and giving fresh graduates the much needed work experience in an organisation.

A statement jointly signed by CENYLON spokesman, Barr. Faruk Mohammed Ofoku, Comrade Gabriel Abela Emmanuel, for South South Concerned Youth for Peace and Stability, Engr. Rodney Nnamdi, for South East Parliament, Comrade Abdulsalam Moh’d Kazeem, for Unified Nigerian Youth Forum and Malam Gadzama Ibrahim for North East Youth for Peace, urged the National Assembly to fastrack passage of the bill.  

“We wish to strongly call on believers in the Nigeria project and in its indissolubility to support the Bill that seeks to establish a Trust Fund for the NYSC, akin to that of the Tertiary Education Fund, TETFund and Gas Infrastructure Fund that was recently established in Petroleum Industry Act.

“The Coalition notes that the Bill seeks to address the infrastructural deficit in the orientation camps and provide lodges for corp members in states and local government areas, ensure adequate provision of other operational logistics, expand NYSC ventures to enhance revenue generation and address problem of graduate unemployment in the country through training and empowerment of corp members.

“The successful passage of the bill and its implementation will play a significant role in curbing the menace of insecurity, as all ex-corp  members with business ideas will secure funding thereby keeping them busy and equally position them as employers of labour. 

“As the students are trained to be self reliant, the Fund will help boost business ideas of corps members to make them self reliant and employers of labour. Considering the fact that entrepreneurship is one of the new order of the 21st century, such fund will help breach the gap our generation face.

“We call on the House Committee on Youth Development to tidy up their report for final passage by the house and concurrence by the Senate. The Coalition believe that President Muhammadu Buhari who has shown unprecedented support for youth development via provision of various low interest rate facilities to budding businesses will gladly sign the passed bill into law.”