President Bola Tinubu has approved an additional 50,000 slots for the 2026 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation in response to the growing number of graduates awaiting enlistment for the mandatory national service.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday at the inauguration of the
remodelled clinic at the NYSC headquarters to mark his one year in office,
Olakunle Nafiu, the NYSC director-general, said the approval was part of
efforts to address delays in mobilisation and improve opportunities for
graduates awaiting national service.
Nafiu said the extra slots had already been captured in the
scheme’s 2026 budget, adding that further provisions had been secured in the
federal government’s 2027 budget cycle to improve the quality of corps members’
kits, feeding and transportation allowances.
“The government listens and acts when people bring up issues
that are in their name,” the NYSC DG said.
“In response to this agitation, this issue of long waits for
mobilisation, Mr President, in the 2026 budget approved an additional 50,000
corps members for mobilisation.”
He said the scheme had expanded significantly since its
establishment in 1973, adding that with the new addition, 418,000 corps members
will be mobilised in 2026.
According to him, mobilisation has grown alongside the
increase in tertiary institutions across the country.
“We started with less than 10 or 12 corps-producing
institutions in 1972, and from that we were able to mobilise 2,364 corps
members,” Nafiu said.
“Today we have over 400 corps-producing institutions turning
out around 600,000 graduates yearly.”
He explained that not all graduates are eligible for the
scheme each year noting that some receive exemptions, while professionals such
as medical doctors and lawyers undergo additional training before mobilisation.
He said the scheme was currently working with an automated
system that regulates mobilisation and deployment processes.
“So, when you don’t go to camp, the system we operate is
automated. It will not mobilise you until that pool is depleted,” he said.
The NYSC director-general attributed some delays experienced
by prospective corps members to institutions failing to upload senate-approved
lists on the NYSC portal in time.
He also said some graduates decline mobilisation after being
posted to certain states, adding that the scheme avoids deploying corps members
to high-risk locations.
“As much as possible, we do not deploy corps members to red
zones, and even when corps members go to such states, they are restricted to
state capitals and major cities,” Nafiu said.
He noted that the management remained committed to the
safety and welfare of corps members nationwide.
“We are parents ourselves and we cannot toy with other
people’s children. We owe parents that responsibility of securing the lives of
their children,” he said.
Ayodele Olawande, minister of youth development, commended
Nafiu for what he described as impactful leadership within his first year in
office.
Olawande said the remodelled clinic reflected the NYSC
leadership’s commitment to the welfare of staff and corps members.
“You can see today that one of those priorities has been the
welfare of the staff and those working in this headquarters,” he said.
“It has been paramount to him to have a truly functional
clinic.”
The minister also addressed recent security concerns
involving corps members and urged them to avoid travelling at night.
“We may not be where we want to be, even as a country or as
an agency, but we are working towards it and doing everything possible to
secure our corps members,” he said.
He added that the federal government is working on
additional measures, including insurance coverage, to strengthen the protection
of corps members.
“I have said it and I will keep saying it: please do not
travel at night.
“Travel when you can see and we can see ourselves so that we
can minimise these incidents,” he said.
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