Anthony Iwuoma
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) generated N511million operating surplus for 2021.
Disclosing this to newsmen in Abuja, the NYSC Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Shuaibu, clarified that the corps generated the fund, which was N231million higher than last year’s remittance, was accruals from its revenue-generating ventures.
He identified the five major sources of revenue, as the NYSC garment factories in Anambra and Niger states; its bakery and table water factories in Abuja; film productions as well as national troupe bookings and performances.
According to Ibrahim: “From these ventures, we generated over N280m in 2020, which we paid into the federation account.
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“For 2021, we have generated N511m, which we will also pay to the federation account. This is our contribution to the national economy.”
He was optimistic that the NYSC would continue to boost its revenue generation and thereby improve the fiscal space for national spending.
He said this was achievable through strict maintenance of its internal financial management reforms and and continuous harness of the potential of corps members.
The NYSC has been under attack in recent times by many calling for the abrogation of the mandatory service scheme for Nigerian graduates.
The call heightened when corps members became victims of kidnappers apart from other hazards like road crashes, which claimed the lives of some of them.
A controversial advisory was issued on Thursday, September 23, 2021, purportedly by NYSC authorities, urging members of the scheme to be ready to pay ransom in the event of their kidnapping.
In document that went viral, the NYSC also reportedly advised corps members and staff travelling through certain routes it described as “high risk”, to fore-alert their “family members, friends and colleagues to have someone on hand to pay off the ransom that could be demanded” by their abductors.
However, the management of the National Youth Service Corps hurriedly released a statement dismissing the viral document as “fake”.
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In a rebuttal, NYSC said: “The attention of Management of the National Youth Sevice Corps has been drawn to a fake release making the rounds on the social media to the effect that Corps Members travelling on “high risk roads” should alert their families, friends and colleagues in order to have somebody to pay off the ransom that could be demanded in the event of being kidnapped,” the NYSC said on its official Facebook page.
“Management wishes to emphatically state that the clause quoted is not embedded in NYSC Security Tips pamphlet which was put together by a highly respected retired security expert.
“Management wishes to appeal to the general public to always clarify issues with the Scheme. Please, be wary of falling prey to the antics of mischief makers out to ridicule the Scheme.
“Management shall continue to prioritize the security and welfare of Corps Members and staff at all times.”
Many believe that for NYSC could generate up to 511million surplus is a positive development.
