The Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced plans to empower at least 5,000 National Youth Corps Service (NYSC) members with the sum of N10 million each.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Youth Development, Dr. Jamila Ibrahim, during the opening ceremony of the inaugural meeting of the NYSC management with heads of Corps Producing Institutions (CPI) in Nigeria, held on Monday in Abuja.
She said this is to help finance their entrepreneurial efforts upon completion of the mandatory one-year service.
She noted that this funding initiative aligns with the upcoming NYSC reforms and is distinct from the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund program set for 2024.
“The thrust of these reforms will be centred on imbuing participants with an entrepreneurship mindset and making skills development the core of the programme,” she said.
“The National Youth Skills programme will play a pivotal role in these reforms. While typically a 12-month programme this year, we’ll start a six months abridged version.
“We expect the ventures funded to emerge from this programme in various strategic sectors driving innovation and economic growth,”
“Though that is already part of the objectives carried out by the scheme, the aim is to partner with it to strengthen the mandate.
“How do we make the scheme more efficient, more effective and more beneficial to both the nation and the Corps members?
“So, we envision a future where the NYSC programme is not only self-sustaining, but also a revenue generating programme within the next five years.
“To achieve this, we will institutionalize the NYSC ventures as an investment and asset management outfit,” she added. Ibrahim therefore urged the participants, as the custodians of higher education in Nigeria, to bear the profound responsibility of nurturing the intellectual, moral and civic capacity of the nation’s youth.
