Proposed NYSC Trust Fund Will Provide Start-Up Capital for Corps Entrepreneurs, Training Facilities

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has expressed concerns about the lack of start-up capital for Corps members after acquisition of entrepreneurial skills.

The Scheme expressed its gratitude as the bill seeking to establish a Trust Fund for corp members scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.

Sponsored by Samuel Akinfolarin, an All Progressives Congress member representing Ileoluji-Okeibo/Odigbo Ondo state, the National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund (Establishment) Bill 2021 passed the first reading at the House on December 16, 2021.

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NYSC Director-General, Maj Gen Shuaibu Ibrahim, said the Trust Fund will make the Scheme’s Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programme more impactful through provision of training facilities and start-up capital for Corps entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the 2022 annual management conference with the theme “Repositioning the NYSC for Improved Healthcare Delivery, Revenue Generation and Corps Employment For Self-Reliance” in Abuja, Ibrahim said the Trust Fund would also assist in addressing infrastructural needs for enhanced operational efficiency.

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“I am delighted to note and inform this gathering that the Bill has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives,” the Director -General said.

He noted that since its establishment in 1973, the NYSC has continued to play vital roles in areas of national unity and integration, promotion of peaceful co-existence among people of different socio-cultural backgrounds, and free movement of labour among others.

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“The contributions of the Scheme to national development, particularly in the areas of health education, rural infrastructure, culture and tourism, sports, conduct of elections and job creation have attracted commendations from within and outside the country”