President Bola Tinubu has approved a “comprehensive reform” of the National Youth Service Corps that puts civilians in charge of daily operations while the military handles security for corps members nationwide, the Presidency announced.
Tinubu directed Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi and Youth Minister Ayodele Olawande to amend the NYSC Act “to reflect all the approved reform measures, enabling immediate implementation.” The reforms include a tech-driven call-up, “risk-sensitive deployment,” and a redesigned six-week orientation. The traditional Passing Out Parade will be replaced by “a new graduation ceremony” and a “redesigned NYSC uniform that reflects professionalism and national pride.”
Special Adviser Hadiza Bala Usman said the six-week camp will run in three phases: weeks 1-2 for “civic responsibility, national values, and leadership development”; weeks 3-4 for “career mapping, financial literacy, business planning, and access to finance”; and weeks 5-6 for “specialised training based on each corps member’s chosen career stream.”
Corps members will now pick from 11 new specialised streams at registration: Agric Corps, Medical Corps, Education Corps, Tech and Digital Corps, Legal Corps, Public Service Corps, Infrastructure Corps, Green Corps, Enterprise Corps, Creative Economy Corps, and Paramilitary and Security Corps. Usman said the streams will “equip graduates with practical skills tailored to their academic backgrounds, career interests, and the country’s workforce needs,” while deployment will now factor in “prevailing security realities.”
