NYSC to prosecute prospective corps members, institutions for sharp practices

By ODIMMEGWA JOHNPETER, Abuja

THE National Youth Service Corps has vowed to prosecute any corps- producing institution or prospective corps member that engages in sharp practices in the Scheme’s mobilization process.
Director-General of the Scheme Brigadier General Johnson Olawumi gave the warning at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Batch ‘A’ Pre-Mobilization Workshop in Owerr‎i, the Imo State capital.
Olawumi said the ccheme’s experience from its e-mobilization process revealed irregularities such as registration by proxy, falsification of medical and marriage documents, provision of false information by prospective corps members to manipulate their postings as well as sharps practices by some institutions.
The DG also stressed that the practice whereby parents request for concessional postings for their children on health or marital grounds when information regarding such were not provided during the online registration would not be accepted.
He said the theme of the workshop, “The role of Stakeholders in Sustaining the Gains of the NYSC Computerized Mobilization Process,” was chosen in view of the Scheme’s determination to sustain the gains of its e-mobilization process, which had recorded modest achievements.
Olawumi used the occasion to ‎appeal to the Imo State Government to ensure speedy completion of the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, the Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha called on the National Youth Service Corps and other stakeholders to step up efforts towards making youths more relevant in the socio-economic affairs of the country.
Okorocha, who said the neglect of youth, especially those from low economic backgrounds, contributed to the problem of insecurity in parts of the country, spoke of the gains Nigeria stands to make if the country has confidence in the youth and supports them to realize their potentials.
He particularly tasked the NYSC to take the lead by strengthening its skills acquisition progr‎amme so as to enable Corps members become experts in various vocations thereby making them self-employed.
“The quest for white collar jobs is just shadow-chasing; this is an era of change, and you can aspire to be your own boss,” he said.
The Governor noted that seventy percent of the expenditure made on labour force in Imo State’s infrastructural development projects went to non-Nigerians; adding that Nigerian youths, especially Corps members, could acquire skills that would enable them handle aspects of those jobs many of which would earn them high fees.
Okorocha used the occasion‎ to applaud the NYSC for its role in the fostering of peace and unity in the country, adding that the Scheme needed to be encouraged to deliver its mandate.