NYSC to sanction Corps employers aiding members absenteeism, abscondment

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Wednesday threatened to apply appropriate sanctions against Corps employers and others found to be aiding and abeting absenteeism and abscondment of Corps members from the national service.

Director, NYSC Northwest area office, Mr. Kehinde Aremu who stated this in his keynote address at the 2023 Corps employers’ workshop in Kaduna noted that with the introduction of biometric verification for both primary and secondary assignments, clearance of Corps members and perpetration of sharp practices have been reduced.

Represented by the Deputy Director Operations, Northwest Area Office of NYSC, Abdulkarim Alima the Director added that the management of the Scheme would continue to sanitise the process to eradicate all forms of malpractices in the system.

On the area of rejection of Corps members by their prospective employers, he said, as far as Corps rejection is concerned, “NYSC is trying as .much as possible to post Corps members to where their course of study is needed based on request.

“We know if a Corps employer requests for Corps members, we know the issue of rejection will not arise. When they are rejected, we repost them to where they are needed.

“We are appealing to our Corps employers to be flexible with Corps members. They should look at their welfare in terms of transport and accommodation.

“It is the responsibility of Corps employers to accommodate them and in a situation where that is not possible, they pay them in place of that a reasonable amount considering the present economic realities in the Country”, he said.

Representative of one of the Corps employers in the State, Deputy Commandant, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Day Secondary School, Kaduna, Major Ajibola Usman attributed occasional Corps members’ rejection to inadequate facilities to accommodate them in his school.

“Usually we accommodate a lot of Corps members. However, as a result of the requirement of institutions like ours, there may be no need for having too many Corps members posted to us at the same time.

“In a situation where the school can only take care of 20 Corps members and you are having 40, there will be the need for rejection because you don’t plan for such a number”, he said.

Another Corps employer at the event, Mrs. Ganiyat Gafar called for system strengthening rather than calling the scraping of the scheme considering its impact on the Country’s workforce.

“The workshop is educative because many of us are just employing Corps members without knowing the nitty-gritty of what it takes. We are going to work on some of the things we were told here.

“Corps members have been up and doing. A Corps member from Bayelsa did so much while taking physics in my school and today, he has settled down in Zaria and doing well for himself.

“So, NYSC should be strengthened because the scheme is deploying these young Nigerians to unite the Country”, she said.

Coordinator of the Scheme in the State, Mr. Hassan Mahmud Taura said the purpose of the workshop was to brainstorm and to arrive at the possible best way to improve the welfare of Corps members in their places of primary assignments.

huhuonline.com