2023: Sowore vows to scrap NYSC

Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has revealed his intention to scrap the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) if he is elected in 2023.

According to him, the one-year mandatory scheme will be replaced with a voluntary two-year expanded job opportunity programme for fresh graduates.

The human rights activist stated this in a tweet on Monday, May 16, 2022, which was met with positive reactions on the microblogging and social networking platform.

“As President of Nigeria, what is now known as National Youth Service Corps would no longer be compulsory,” the aspirant’s tweet read. “Instead it will become a voluntary 2-year expanded “Job Corps” programme for fresh graduates.” he tweeted.

The NYSC programme was established in 1973 by Yakubu Gowon’s military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation building and the development of the country, mandatory for every degree holder below the age of 30.

One of the objectives of the one-year scheme is to “inculcate discipline in Nigerian youths by instilling in them a tradition of industry at work, and of patriotic and loyal service to Nigeria in any situation they may find themselves”.

The programme, which also seeks to eliminate ethnic bias, do away with religious intolerance and expose Nigerian youths to disparate modes of living, has been met with fierce criticism in recent years, with parents and graduates concerned about the growing insecurity across the nation.