OVERWHELMED by the yearly turnout of graduates from Nigerian universities, the management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is considering making the scheme a voluntary one.

This, it is believed, in spite of reducing the number of prospective corps members, would not only save the cost of running the scheme, but would sustain the programme on a continuous basis.

The Director-General of NYSC, Brig-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, who dropped the hint yesterday, when he, alongside other top management officials of the Federal Ministry of Youths Development accompanied the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Rabi Jimeta, went to brief President Muhammadu Buhari on the activities of the ministry, said the programme was increasingly becoming a heavy burden for the government.

Olawumi, therefore, averred that to make the scheme voluntary would not only reduce the corps members’ population with a view to saving cost, but would make the programme more sustainable.

Meanwhile, the President has pledged that his administration would take all necessary actions to maintain and improve the scheme as a functional vehicle for the promotion of national unity and integration.

President Buhari, who affirmed his confidence and trust in the programme, saying that the objective for which the scheme was established in 1973 was still very relevant for national development now, said: “I firmly believe in NYSC and I think it should remain a national programme to promote integration. This is because whenever I go home to Daura (his home-town), I look out for corps members from Lagos, Aba and other parts of the country.

“I am always thrilled to learn that except for the NYSC scheme, some of them have never left their states of origin to visit other cities in the country.”

Jimeta had told the President that increasing the number of NYSC participants posed a challenge to the scheme due to the dwindling revenue from the national budget to cater for their needs.