The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has said more than 650,000 graduates from tertiary institutions across the country and outside Nigeria will be mobilised for the mandatory national service programme next year.
Its Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Oluseye, announced this yesterday in Abuja while delivering a goodwill message on behalf of the service at the seventh National Day of Identity organised by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Oluseye said about 400,000 Corps members were mobilised this year, stressing the significance of a secure and trusted national identity database for mobilisation across the country.
Highlighting the essence of National Identity Numbers (NIN) in the mobilisation of Corps members, the NYSC DG recalled that in 2023, an investigative journalist who attempted to register as a Corps member was identified after making multiple attempts through the registration portal.
Oluseye, who did not state the motive behind the journalist’s attempts, explained that the system the agency had put in place exposed the individual through his email, phone numbers, and passport.
According to him, it is now practically impossible for any individual who has passed through the system to attempt to be mobilised as a Corps member, or anyone who has nothing to do with NYSC to be mobilised.
The NYSC DG applauded the collaboration between NIMC and the agency, saying it has helped to eliminate multiple registrations and fraudulent enrolment.
He described the process of Corps mobilisation as faster and clearer at the moment, adding that noticeable challenges were also being addressed.
