Cash crunch: NYSC may not mobilise thousands for service
Tue May 17, 2016 10:44:am National
2.2K By sosa hills
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is broke and cannot mobilise the 2016 Batch B corps members which begins on Friday, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Suleman Kazaure, has said.
Kazaure told the Senate Committee on Sports and Youth Development on Monday at the National Assembly, Abuja, that unless there was immediate intervention of the Federal Government, the Batch B Corps Members would not be able to undertake the mandatory one-year national assignment.
According to him, the NYSC has no funds because of the shortfalls in its allocation in the 2016 Budget and expressed fears that the scheme may not meet its responsibility of mobilising the Batch B Corps Members as scheduled.
He said he had written several letters to the Minister of Youths and Development, Mr. Solomon Dalung and the Presidency on the need to bailout the NYSC and was yet to receive any response from them.
"We have written series of letters to the minister and the President and we have not received any response. We are still waiting for the Presidency to respond," Kazaure said.
The NYSC DG however, expressed the optimism that a last minute intervention may be made by the Presidency to save the situation, adding that the Chief of Staff to the President has invited the minister over the matter.
He said: "We cannot mobilise them to camp this week because of inadequate funding to meet our request."
Meanwhile, the Committee Chairman, Senator Obinna Ogba, expressed concern over the problem, but assured the DG of the panel's intervention through an urgent tripartite meeting of the NYSC, the Ministry of Youths and Sports and the committee, to address the issue.
Kazaure told the Senate Committee on Sports and Youth Development on Monday at the National Assembly, Abuja, that unless there was immediate intervention of the Federal Government, the Batch B Corps Members would not be able to undertake the mandatory one-year national assignment.
According to him, the NYSC has no funds because of the shortfalls in its allocation in the 2016 Budget and expressed fears that the scheme may not meet its responsibility of mobilising the Batch B Corps Members as scheduled.
He said he had written several letters to the Minister of Youths and Development, Mr. Solomon Dalung and the Presidency on the need to bailout the NYSC and was yet to receive any response from them.
"We have written series of letters to the minister and the President and we have not received any response. We are still waiting for the Presidency to respond," Kazaure said.
The NYSC DG however, expressed the optimism that a last minute intervention may be made by the Presidency to save the situation, adding that the Chief of Staff to the President has invited the minister over the matter.
He said: "We cannot mobilise them to camp this week because of inadequate funding to meet our request."
Meanwhile, the Committee Chairman, Senator Obinna Ogba, expressed concern over the problem, but assured the DG of the panel's intervention through an urgent tripartite meeting of the NYSC, the Ministry of Youths and Sports and the committee, to address the issue.
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