National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has vowed to block any threat from any quarter to bring the scheme into disrepute.
The Director-General, Brig-Gen Yusha’u Ahmed, stated this in Abuja, yesterday, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Batch ‘A’ Pre-Mobilisation Workshop.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Unlocking Innovative Solutions to the Challenges of the Mobilisation Process’, Ahmed said the corps would continue to embrace innovations to ensure seamless operation.
He explained that the physical verification exercise and several other measures adopted would go a long way in exposing fake graduates, especially those claiming to be foreign-trained.
“Over the years, we have black-listed local and foreign institutions found to be engaged in fraudulent practices, in addition to making formal reports on their activities to regulatory authorities.
“Moreover, in November 2023, we convened a meeting with representatives of tertiary institutions in some African countries, which was also attended by local stakeholders, including the Federal Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs as well as the National Universities Commission (NUC). We used that avenue to discuss challenges in the mobilisation of graduates trained in the affected countries, as well as unveil fresh guidelines and requirements, including submission of master lists of Nigerian graduates by the invited institutions,” he stated.
The DG used the forum to solicit the continued support of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders in the scheme’s unrelenting efforts to block fake graduates from mobilisation.
“These elements pose serious threats to the socio-economic wellbeing of the country, especially when allowed to penetrate the workforce of sensitive sectors such as health and education,” he added.
Ahmed was upbeat that the outcome of the workshop would culminate in a more efficient and credible mobilisation process.
In her remarks, Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Ibrahim.
