- Scheme introduces more verification features to forestall fake membership
The Minister of Youth Development, Dr. Jamila Ibrahim, has called for the enhancement of existing framework to create a more resilient and foolproof National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation system.
Ibrahim spoke at the opening ceremony of the NYSC 2024 Batch ‘A’ pre-mobilisation workshop, with theme: Unlocking Innovative Solutions to the Challenges of the Mobilisation Process, yesterday in Abuja.
The minister said the issue of fake certificates had gained public attention and prompted the Federal Government to begin an investigation, demonstrating the collective dedication to purge the system of fraudulent practices.
She also said the ongoing effort by the NYSC to stem the menace through rigorous verification processes demonstrated the scheme’s commitment to upholding integrity.
Ibrahim noted that “recognising the menace posed by fake certificates and related fraudulent activities to the mobilisation process underscores the need for restructuring of the system”.
She added: “Bringing critical stakeholders, such as this workshop, will lay the groundwork for innovative solutions that will combat fraudulent practices.”
Ibrahim also said the collaborative effort symbolised a significant step towards continuous improvement and establishing a more robust system that benefits the youth and the nation at large.
Read Also: NYSC makes NIN mandatory for registration
The minister stressed that though the NYSC scheme ranked among the most enduring platforms that historically played a significant role in promoting national unity, “Nigeria’s evolving economic and social landscape now calls for major restructuring”.
She added: “This is to ensure that the scheme effectively meets current and future challenges, as the restructuring will transform the NYSC into a key driver of youth empowerment and economic development.”
The NYSC Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Yush’au Ahmed, told reporters that more features had been added to verify prospective youth corps members.
He said: “We will continue to guard against fake mobilisation as we have also introduced a lot of new innovations.
“Before, we were using two thumbprint features, but this time round, we are adopting the 10 finger thumbprint, then the facial recognition feature.
“There are also other verification features that we do not need to say here so that we do not sell out our innovations because the more you change your style, the more they adopt other means to make sure that they break through.
“However, we are making a lot of efforts to make sure that we guard our system against fake youth corps members. With these new innovations, fake mobilisation will be very difficult.”