NYSC Gets N800 Million From Corps Members

National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, would gathered in about N800 million yearly from printing the call-up letters for Nigerian graduates participating in the one-year compulsory scheme, the Director, Corps Mobilisation, Anthony Ani, disclosed on a radio programme.

The new arrangement extends the list of government establishments extorting unemployed graduates in the guise of making them pay for employment applications.

Mr. Ani, while speaking on Political Platform on Raypower FM, on Monday, said a N4,000 fee will be paid by each corps member for their call-up letter.

He, however, did not say if the money would be realized from a single batch since the service runs three batches – A,B and C, yearly.

The NYSC had recently announced that it would charge each prospective corps member to print call-up letters for them.

The Director-General of the Corps, Johnson Olawuni, a brigadier-general, had explained that the fee was for service and
infrastructure to be deployed to collaborating firm, SIDMACH Technologies Nigeria Limited, which would ensure a full
computerization of the mobilization process.

The new scheme starts from the next batch.

Mr. Ani said the fee would cover the cost of accessing and printing out of the call-up letters online for prospective corps members, instead of the traditional system of travelling to their schools to pick the letters.

Mr. Ani said the risk involved in fresh graduates travelling to their schools to pick the letters was enormous and that the fee would reduce the risk.

Stating that payment of the fee was optional, the NYSC official said it was the corps members that asked for the new pay regime having realized that the risks involved, including road accidents were taking a toll on the graduates.