After reviewing the current security challenges facing the country, the Director General of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen. Jonson Bamidele Olawumi, yesterday said plans were underway to initiate new laws that would empower corps members posted to crisis zones to seek immediate re-deployment.
Gen. Olawumi, who disclosed this yesterday while commencing NYSC’s two-day pre-mobilisation workshop for Batch B corps in Enugu, said existing policies were being reviewed in order to expand the scope of areas of primary assignment for corps members.
The new policy, according to the NYSC DG would also help tackle the challenge of rejection of corps members by employers.
He noted that as a result of the security challenges in the country, corps members are now at liberty to seek re-deployment when posted to states under emergency rule in the northern part of the country.
“The policy we are talking about in terms of review has to do with widening the scope. As you are aware, for now we are bound by the fact that we deploy corps members to only four key areas; talking about agriculture, education health and rural infrastructure development.
“But we are making a case to see if we can expand beyond these four key areas so that the problem we are having with what we are doing right now especially in terms of rejection of corps members we’ll be able to mitigate that. That is the key policy that we are trying to look into for a review. We are looking at areas like banking sector, the oil and gas industry, telecommunications and other sectors,” he said.
The workshop tagged: “Consolidating effective strategies for a credible mobilsation process” is expected to provide a platform for interface between NYSC and Corp Producing Institutions geared towards re-engineering the scheme for optimum benefit to corps members and the nation at large.
Addressing the participants, Olawumi said: “The management will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the vast human resources at the disposal of the scheme is appropriately deployed to all areas of need within the state.
“The pre-mobilisation workshop provides a platform for the NYSC and other stakeholders, to interface and critically review areas of weakness in the mobilisation process as well as consolidate on the positive landmarks recorded.
“It is through this assessment mechanism that the mobilisation of prospective corps members and other related matters are re-engineered for optimum benefit of participants in the service corps and the nation at large.”
In his remark, the Chairman, NYSC Governing Board, Chief Gordon Bozimo, reiterated the board’s commitment towards upholding the ideals for which NYSC was established in 1973 as contained in the policy direction of the scheme.
He assured the management that the board would continue to add value to the operations of the scheme through operational procedures, processes and transparency.
