#RME: Reps seek increment in NYSC allowances

The House of Representatives on Thursday in Abuja passed for second reading a bill seeking an improved welfare package for members of the National Youth Service Corps.

The bill seeks to amend the NYSC Act No 51 of 1993 by making provisions to enhance the welfare of corps members, encourage acquisition of special business and commercial skills at the end of the annual service year.

Moshood Mustapha (All Progressives Congress – Kwara), who sponsored the bill, expressed regrets over unemployment and poverty rate bedeviling the country.

He said the proposed amendment would encourage self-employment.

Section 7(3) of the proposed amendment seeks to increase state governments annual subvention from N500,000 to N50m, to enable NYSC to cater adequately for the welfare and skill acquisition needs of corps members.

It said such minimum subvention shall be provided before the commencement of the service year, for which it was intended.

Section 18 (2) also seeks to increase minimum accommodation allowance from N250 per month to N5,000 while transport allowance might be increased from N150 per month to N5,000.

The sponsor added, "The bill seeks to amend the NYSC Decree 51 of 1993 to provide for the training of corps members to acquire skills and business.

"It would enable them to seek other means of sustainable livelihood and fend for themselves other than the white collar jobs that are in acute shortage."

Proudly RME Nigeria

NYSC N4,000 call-up fee optional, DG tells Reps

The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brig-General Johnson Olawumi, told the House of Representatives on Wednesday that the controversial N4,000 charged corps members for call-up letters would remain optional.‎

He said the fee was strictly for the printing of the letters and not for accessing the online portal of the agency.

Speaking at the hearing of a petition on the matter by the House Committee on Public Petitions, the DG claimed that the agency opted for the online portal owing to growing cases of fake call-up letters flooding the society.

Olawumi told the committee that the policy resulted from a Private Public Partnership which started in 2013 after Sigma, the partner, emerged as the preferred bidder from a list of 49 firms.

The DG explained, "Corps members are supposed to pay more than N4,000 and we want the process to be optional.

"It is an optional thing and the process will remain optional as far as the agreement subsists with Sigma.

"Even if the price crashes to N100, it will continue to remain optional."

He added that at the close of portal, 124, 831 corps members had registered online.

However, he stated that only 23, 211 paid for the printing of the letters.

But, a group, Say No Campaign, which led the protest against the fee, insisted that there was no justification for the it.

Proudly RME Nigeria