Abuja: The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has described the Federal Government’s approval of comprehensive reforms to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as an opportunity to reposition the scheme ‘to better respond to contemporary realities’.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, stated this in Abuja while reacting to the reforms approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), noting that effective implementation would determine their impact. Rafsanjani mentioned that the reforms, if transparently implemented, could strengthen graduates’ employability, reduce youth unemployment, and align the scheme more closely with national development priorities.
‘CISLAC particularly welcomes the government’s decision to strengthen skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, digital innovation, and career development within the NYSC framework,’ he expressed. He acknowledged that although the NYSC had, for over five decades, promoted national unity and cultural integration, there is now an urgent need for restructuring due to rising unemployment, insecurity, and technological disruption.
Rafsanjani commended the planned digitalisation of NYSC operations, stating it could improve transparency, efficiency, and service delivery while reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and corruption risks. He emphasized that the welfare and security of corps members must remain central to the reform process, given the prevailing security challenges in several parts of the country.
He urged the Federal Government to base deployment decisions on clear security assessments while strengthening emergency response systems and insurance protection for participants. Rafsanjani also supported plans to introduce specialised service streams but warned against potential abuse, political interference, or preferential treatment during implementation.
He stressed that placement into specialised streams should be guided strictly by merit, transparency, and labour market needs, providing equal opportunity for all corps members. Rafsanjani called for broad stakeholder consultations before any amendment of the NYSC Act, emphasizing that reforms must be inclusive and participatory.
He warned that without sustained funding, the reforms risk becoming policy declarations without measurable outcomes. Rafsanjani advocated for the introduction of clear performance indicators and an independent monitoring and evaluation framework to track the impact of the reforms on employment, skills development, and national integration.
Rafsanjani concluded that the NYSC must retain its founding role as an instrument of national cohesion while adapting to modern economic and social realities. He added that the success of the reforms would depend on transparency, accountability, adequate funding, and sustained engagement with stakeholders.
NAN reports that the FEC on Monday approved the comprehensive reform of the NYSC to align the scheme with Nigeria’s current development priorities. The Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, stated that the reforms would strengthen digital operations, improve corps members’ welfare and security, expand skills acquisition and entrepreneurship, and redesign the passing-out parade into a graduation ceremony.