The Open Society for Good Governance (OSGG) has welcomed the proposed National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund describing it as a catalyst for youth empowerment and development in Nigeria.
The group, in a statement today, said the Trust Fund will potentially deal with graduate unemployment and enhance the welfare of staff.
Recall that the NYSC Trust Fund Bill (Establishment, etc.) last week scaled the first reading at the House of Representatives.
Sponsored by Hon. Akinfolarin Mayowa representing Ileoluji Okeigbo/Odigbo constituency in Ondo State, if passed, the Bill, 2021 (HB.1795) will among others provide sustainable source of funds for NYSC, Skill Acquisition training and provision of startup capital to Corps Members as well as train and retrain the personnel of the NYSC.
Throwing its weight behind the Trust Fund, the Open Society for Good Governance commended the lower chamber for considering the bill.
According to the group, the NYSCTF will bridge the funding gap in the skill and entrepreneurship development drive of the NYSC.
It, therefore, commended the Director-General of the NYSC, Brig-Gen Shuaib Ibrahim for his ingenuity in conceiving and proposing the establishment of the Trust Fund.
The group further noted that the DG has yet again displayed an unalloyed commitment to the cause of nation-building.
The Open Society for Good Governance, however, called on well-meaning Nigerians, relevant stakeholders and critics to embrace the Trust Fund.
Read full statement below:
The Open Society for Good Governance as a critical stakeholder in the quest for sustainable growth and development in Nigeria, is commending the efforts of the Federal House of Representatives in its consideration of the bill seeking for the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund.
The assurances by the House Committee on Youth and Sports on the speedy attention to the passage of the bill is indeed reassuring and an indication that indeed greater times await the operations of the NYSC.
This is indeed laudable, and it is succinct to state that the strategic importance of establishing the NYSC Trust Fund cannot be overemphasized. It is thus our considered opinion that the NYSC Trust Fund will support staff training for higher productivity and logistic requirements for particular aspects of Community Development Service.
We also wish to align with the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Youth Development, Yemi Adaramodu, who justified that the proposed establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund would serve as a means of tackling the myriad of challenges facing the noble NYSC scheme.
The Open Society for Good Governance wishes to use this medium to appreciate the Director-General of the NYSC for the ingenuity in proposing the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund to bridge the funding gap in the skill and entrepreneurship development drive of the NYSC.
The NYSC DG has displayed an act of uncommon courage worthy of emulation across the board. And it is our considered opinion that upon establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund, the NYSC as an institution would be better positioned to contribute its quota to the growth and development of the country.
The Open Society for Good Governance wishes to state unequivocal terms that the NYSC Trust Fund is indeed a game-changer in the empowerment of youths in the country that constitute a critical constituency.
This is indeed a welcome development and an indication of the commitment of the NYSC leadership towards creating that platform for youth development and empowerment in the country.
It is our firm position that the NYSC Trust Fund would serve as that medium with which the hopes and aspirations of the teeming youths in the country would be translated into tangible realities.
The NYSC management has once again displayed an unalloyed commitment to the cause of nation-building. It behoves all well-meaning Nigerians to extend a hand of support to the NYSC leadership in our quest to maximise our youths’ potentials.
The Open Society for Good Governance wishes to use this medium to commend the Federal House of Representatives for leading this laudable charge. Their actions are commendable and in the overall interest of the country.
We consequently encourage other critical stakeholders to emulate the actions of the Federal House of Representatives. We must, therefore, create an enabling environment for our young entrepreneurs to succeed to ensure that what these young ones have made should not be erased. We must empower them to create the jobs that would lift the continent to prosperity.
This is what the NYSC Trust Fund aims to achieve, and the onus lies on us to see to the quick passage of the bill that would lead to the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund.