By Anwar Usman
The Federal Government has lifted the ban that restricted the posting of members of the National Youth Service Corps to the public institutions, allowing for corps members to now be posted to private sector organisations, including banks and oil and gas companies.
According to a memo released by the Minister for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, on November 18, 2024, the new policy directive will take effect with the commencement of the 2024 Batch ‘C’ Orientation exercise.
The previous policy that was implemented during the former Minister for Youth and Sports Development, Bolaji Abdullahi, aimed at discouraging private companies from exploiting cheap labour while promoting public sector capacity building and restricted corps members to only four sectors of the economy, including education, agriculture, health, and infrastructure.
The minister added that the new policy follows President Bola Tinubu’s strategy to tackle rising youth unemployment by ensuring that government agencies align with the vision of his administration, adding that the directive will initially take effect in Lagos and Abuja.
“The new policy would also allow the corp members to gain valuable experience in their chosen fields of study, noting that the previous policy discouraged Nigerian youths from gaining experiences that would prepare them for the labour market.
The memo further read in parts, “There is a serious need to review this policy to expand the opportunity and access for corps members to serve in places that are relevant to their areas of study. Without prejudice to the need to constantly review per prevailing realities, I now direct as follows: Lifting of all restrictions on postings.”