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No Plan To Make NYSC Optional, FG Clarifies
The National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) will never be scrapped or made optional for Nigerian youths who are below 30 years of age by the time they complete their undergraduate studies, the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Sunday Dare, has made clear.
The minister made the clarification while responding to questions from journalists after presenting his ministry’s scorecard to the media at the National Press Centre in Abuja, yesterday.
According to the minister, the rationale which informed the establishment of the NYSC in 1973 by the General Yakubu Gowon administration, which was to promote unity among Nigerians, still remains subsists and cannot be done away with by Nigeria.
Dare explained that Nigeria, like any other country in the world, values the contributions of youths into the polity and would therefore not abandon the lofty ideals of the NYSC for any reason.
The minister said, “When General Yakubu Gowon and that government decided to come up with the idea of the NYSC, the central rationale was to promote the unity of Nigeria as the country was just coming out of the civil war and we have been singing the song that says though the tongue may differ in brotherhood and unity we stand. You know that the life wire of any nation is its youths and once their patriotism is captured, that can spread across.
“So, the rationale for bringing on the NYSC scheme by General Gowon up till now subsists. Every country and even Nigeria is still on a daily basis trying to promote its unity in diversity. And, with the strength of our youths, sending them to the different parts of the country, some of us have never been to the parts of the country where we served, never knew their cultures, never experienced them, never knew that they were even Nigerians up north or in the Southeast that you shared your common language or culture with,” Dare explained.
The minister also announced that necessary reforms were being put in place to end the era of fake NYSC certificate and remove the confusion as to those Nigerians in the Diaspora who should and should not serve in the scheme.
He said, “Reform is a constant thing and the NYSC is looking at some reforms because we have had some challenges with those that are in the Diaspora as to whether they should serve or not. There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding. The NYSC is working to ensure that those areas that are fussy about the laws are made clear. It is either you are 30 years and you serve or you are above and you are exempted from the scheme.
“There is a solid database now because we have had cases of people collecting fake certificates and going forward one would have no doubt about the genuineness of the NYSC certificates they have. This is because we are going to produce the certificates with watermarks so that if you get a fake NYSC certificate you know that it is fake, and you would not need to wait ten years in order to discover that it is fake. You will discover the fake one immediately after you see it. Even now, if you don’t have an original NYSC certificate, it would be possible for us to know within five minutes because it would show up once we press the button from our end,” Dare stated.
The minister, who was asked to give reasons why the former Director General of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Fadah was removed, declined to give the reasons, but stated that Buhari does not want anything to stall the progress of the scheme, which was essential to the nation as a whole.
The minister also explained how thousands of Nigerian youths were evenly selected by his ministry to participate in various job openings and training programmes, so as to give them equal chance to take part in all the available opportunities as opposed to what was obtained in the past where a certain group of persons manipulated and used all available opportunities.
He said, “What we met on the ground was whenever there were opportunities to train our youths, the selection process was by word of mouth and by whom you know. That way, forms for employment and training opportunities were printed and given to a limited number of people and some of the forms hardly ever left Abuja. As a result of that process, there was a tendency for the same number of persons to benefit all the time from available training without any spread to others. But when we came, we decided to engage our youths online since they are tech-savvy.
“The online platform we are using gives everyone the equal opportunity of being selected and with their data taken at the same time for processing, using the chosen social media platforms. That is why when we did our recruitment over 3.9million youths applied from even some of the remotest villages around the country. Ordinarily, we would have just printed 200,000 forms and shared them and that would have been it”.
A Coalition of civil society organisations has urged the Federal Government to take proactive steps towards addressing the persistent gas eruptions in Bille, Rivers.
The coalition, made up of the People’s Assembly and Bille Working Group, made the call in an open letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu, and read to journalists in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Reading the letter, the coalition’s convener, Dr Isaac Osuoka, said that the persistent gas eruption in Bille had led to serious environmental and public health challenges.
Osuoka, also the Executive Director, Social Action, urged Tinubu to establish a presidential task force to investigate and contain the gas leak in Bille.
He also called for the immediate relocation of residents to safe shelters, provision of clean water, food and healthcare services.
Dr Emem Okon, the Executive Director, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, stated that gas had been bubbling from the ground, creeks, boreholes and hand-dug wells in the community since October 2025.
Okon said that the gas had triggered several fires and explosions, and that residents of the community had reported respiratory problems, vomiting and other illnesses associated with exposure to the emissions.
According to her, preliminary investigations by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) have yet to identify the source of the gas.
Mr Kentebe Ebiaridor, the Coordinator, Oilwatch International, called for the publication of results from preliminary soil and water tests conducted in Bille for the residents to know the nature and extent of the contamination.
Ebiaridor urged the Federal Government to deploy medical teams to screen and treat affected residents, and immediately commence an independent study on the health impacts of the leak.
He further called for the suspension of oil and gas operations around OML 18 and 24 until the source of the gas leak was identified and the affected areas declared safe.
Ebiaridor urged the government to hold current and former operators of the oil leases accountable for environmental damage on the community.
Another speaker, Dr Bieye Briggs, urged the National Assembly to fast-track the NOSDRA Amendment Bill, 2025 to provide the agency with statutory funding and stronger enforcement powers.
Briggs urged the Federal Government to activate the regional Spill Command Centre, and make the Upstream Remediation Fund accessible for the Bille crisis and other affected communities in the Niger Delta.
The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has banned drone operations and fireworks in Uyo and announced temporary traffic restrictions ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the State today.
The state Commissioner of Police, Baba Mohammed Azare, announced the measures yesterday while briefing journalists at the Police Headquarters in Ikot Akpan Abia, Uyo.
He said the restrictions were part of security arrangements to maintain public order, protect strategic locations and ensure the smooth movement of the President’s convoy during his engagements.
“There will be total restriction on the operation and flying of drones within Uyo metropolis throughout the period of the visit. Members of the public, drone operators and service providers are advised to strictly comply with the directive,” he said.
The police commissioner also announced a ban on fireworks, knockouts and other explosive sound-producing devices within the state capital during the visit.
He said the measure would prevent panic and allow security personnel to respond effectively to genuine security threats.
The command also announced temporary restrictions on public access to designated routes and locations in Uyo to facilitate the movement of the presidential convoy.
The affected areas are Airport Road, Shelter Afrique Junction, Oron Road, Nung Oku Junction, Mbierebe Junction and Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
“Motorists are urged to plan their journeys, exercise patience and cooperate with traffic and security personnel deployed along the corridors.
“Members of the public are advised to avoid the routes during the restriction and use alternative routes,” Azare said.
He also urged residents to plan their journeys, exercise patience and cooperate with traffic and security personnel deployed along the affected corridors.
The commissioner said the command, working with other security agencies, had put in place security arrangements to ensure a peaceful and hitch-free visit.
He appealed to residents to understand that the temporary restrictions were necessary security measures and not intended to cause hardship.
Azare urged members of the public to remain law-abiding, avoid restricted areas and report suspicious movements to the nearest police station or through police emergency channels.
Tinubu’s visit to Akwa Ibom is a working visit during which he is expected to inaugurate major infrastructure projects executed by Governor Umo Eno’s administration under its ARISE Agenda. The projects cut across aviation, road infrastructure, tourism, healthcare, land administration and security.
Among the projects scheduled for inauguration are the international terminal building and airport hospital at Victor Attah International Airport, Aviation Village, ARISE Palm Resort, the 14.5-kilometre Nsit Atai–Okobo Road, Ring Road 3, the Command and Control Centre and the AkwaGIS building.
The state government had earlier announced plans for the President to inaugurate projects as part of activities marking Akwa Ibom’s 39th anniversary in September.
The airport projects are particularly significant to the state’s ambition to expand aviation, tourism and investment.
The international terminal is expected to strengthen the airport’s capacity to handle international operations, while the Aviation Village is intended to provide accommodation for aviation workers. The airport hospital is also among the facilities lined up for inauguration.
The road projects are also expected to improve connectivity. The 14.5-kilometre Nsit Atai–Okobo Road links communities in the two local government areas, while Ring Road 3 is designed to improve movement within Uyo and ease pressure on existing roads. The Command and Control Centre, meanwhile, is intended to strengthen security surveillance and coordination in the State.
The Rivers State Ministry of Culture and Tourism has floated a culture content platform in collaboration with digital television group, Multichoice.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Freddy Ndigbara, disclosed this after a meeting with MultiChoice Head of Content Acquisition, Don Dotun Ojon, in Port Harcourt.
He assured that content entrepreneurs and film makers would enjoy the platform by promoting culture and other contents to sell the states tourism potentials.
He said MultiChoice M-net was now open to increase its patronage for content shots on locations in Rivers State, describing the State as one that has numerous potentials for film tourism.
“We were privileged to have Don Ojon with us at the Rivers International Film Festival (RIFF) at the weekend in Bonny and he saw, first hand, the numerous sites and opportunities that are open to creatives in the State. After that, we felt it was important to deepen the conversation and he obliged. This is a cheering news for the sector in the State,” he said.
Ndigbara stated that “Rivers State has many more untold stories to tell, many more contents to reel out and the assurances from the M-net Acquisition Manager is an indication that the industry in the state will soon enjoy a new lease of life”.
The Permanent Secretary thanked Ojon for the visit and assured that creatives in the State would grap this opportunity and show the world that Rivers State is a major hub for film tourism in Nigeria.
On his part, Ojon said the visit was to discuss on ways of promoting tourism in the State using creatives and film.
Ojon said although the company has recently been acquired by canal+ France and is undergoing restructuring, he would promote the chances of Rivers State to host the MultiChoice talent factory in the State.
With Asaba, capital of Delta State, being saturated, Ojon said the next port is Rivers State, which he said is capable of building fresh crop of creatives, new locations, new story lines and concepts.
He, therefore, called for collaboration from stakeholders in the State.
Kevin Nengia
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