The Federal Government says it wants to replace the NYSC’s khaki uniform

The Federal Government has stated that it will replace the traditional khaki uniforms of the National Youth Service Corps with locally produced Adire cloth as part of ongoing reforms aimed at repositioning the scheme.

The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, disclosed this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, and said that the move was intended to promote local manufacturing and ensure government spending supports the Nigerian economy.

“That’s Adire. So, Adire is produced in Nigeria. We have it in Ogun, we have it in Kwara, we have the textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country,” he said.

Olawande also said that corps members would increasingly be placed according to their fields of study under the new framework, explaining that graduates with educational qualifications, for example, would be placed in schools rather than placed without considering their professional background.

“Once you leave the camp, you are not just placed in a school just because NYSC wants you to go to school but because of the process you followed while you were in the camp. So, this will provide a framework for where you will be placed,” he said.

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In the security sector, the Minister said the government is considering placing prospective corps members in areas where they have studied and are familiar with the environment, especially in areas that face security challenges.

According to him, this arrangement will reduce the worries of parents and prospective corps members while making the placement process more practical.

“If you have an interest and want to go to the North East why not, but if you don’t have an interest, instead of hiring you back, paying people to camp, doing funny things, we said no, let’s look and name anyone who is in that region, who can live in that geographic area and still give us the numbers we’re looking for because we said NYSC should have more impact. So, that’s what we’re talking about,” he said.

The minister also rejected reports suggesting that the military would be expelled from the NYSC, describing the claims as a misunderstanding.

The reforms follow the Federal Executive Council’s approval on Monday of a complete overhaul of the NYSC, the first major reform of the scheme since it was founded in 1973.

Based on the approved reforms, the Federal Executive Council directed the Attorney General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to amend the NYSC Act and its regulations to accommodate the changes.

The new framework stipulates that operational leadership of the scheme will be led by civilians, while the military will continue to provide security support for corps members nationwide.