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The Federal Government has announced plans to replace the National Youth Service Corps’ iconic khaki uniform with locally produced Adire as part of a sweeping reform package designed to strengthen the scheme and promote Nigeria’s textile industry.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, disclosed the decision on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, saying the policy would ensure government spending supports local manufacturers.
“It’s Adire. So, Adire is being produced in Nigeria. We have them in Ogun, we have them in Kwara, we have textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country,” Olawande said.
Beyond the uniform change, the minister said corps members would now be deployed largely according to their academic qualifications, with postings determined through a profiling process conducted during orientation camp.
“After you are leaving the camp, you are not just posted to a school just because NYSC wants you to be in school but because of the process you followed when in camp. So, that is going to give a framework of where you are going to be posted to,” he said.
Olawande also said the government was reviewing the deployment policy to improve security by posting corps members to regions where they studied or were familiar with, while allowing those willing to serve in other parts of the country to do so.
“If you have interest that you want to go to the North-East why not, but if you don’t have interest, instead of redeploying you, paying people for camp, doing all those funny things, we said no, let us look at it and say who are those in that area, that can reside in those geographical areas and still give us the kind of number we are looking for since we are saying NYSC should be more impactful. So, that is what we are talking about,” he said.
The minister dismissed reports that the military would be removed from the NYSC, clarifying that while the scheme’s operational leadership would be civilian-led, the armed forces would continue to provide security support.
The reforms, approved by the Federal Executive Council on Monday, represent the first comprehensive overhaul of the NYSC since its establishment in 1973. The council also directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Youth Development to amend the NYSC Act to accommodate the changes.
