Wife of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, BolaTinubu, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has called for a holistic and modern reforms in the National Youth Service Corps.
She made the call during a discussion at the second edition of the APC Professionals Forum Symposium in Abuja.
Represented by the Director-General of National Centre for Women Development, Asabe Bashir, the Senator said such progressive reforms was long over due which to give the corps a robust outlook.
The NYSC was established in 1973 by the General Yakubu Gowon administration to among other things facilitate national integration as part of efforts to bring about national cohesion as Nigeria was emerging from a 30-month civil war where more than 2 million lives were reportedly lost.
Tinubu’s call for the NYSC reformation was coming barely 24 hours after a bill seeking to amend the existing Act to make the compulsory one-year national youth service for under-30 graduates optional suffered a setback at the House of Representatives.
The bill, am9ng others, desired increasedc allowances for NYSC members to obtain a Certificate of Exemption
Tinubu’s wife said she strongly believed the NYSC can be reformed and restructured to alleviate the bottlenecks associated with graduates struggling for employment after service.
She said, “We believe that the National Youth Service Corps is long overdue for a holistic, modern, and progressive reform.
“It is the last conveyor belt of graduates from academic pursuits to real-life employment challenges,” she said, adding that the Asiwaju administration believes that the NYSC can be restructured in such a way as to benefit the private sector and youth directly.
“This will be achieved by proactively encouraging and incentivising corporate recruitment and possible retainership of employees directly from the scheme.
‘We will champion the creation of Business Incubation Centres (Innovation and Productivity Hubs). These centres will help incubate, mentor and support youth innovators and inventors.
“We will increase the ease and robustness of intellectual property registration and protection such as copyrights, patents, and trademark.”
