By Aaron Ossai
Coalition of religious groups and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have lauded the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government for being youth friendly and consistently making efforts towards building lasting legacies for Nigerian youths, citing the NYSC Trust Fund as the greatest of them all.
In a press release signed by the trio of Bishop Abel Kings (College of Bishops), Sheikh Shehu Auwal Musa (College of Imams) and Comrade Solomon Semaka (CSOs) respectively and made available to journalists in Abuja, the coalition hinted that the NYSC Trust Fund is one of few bills that has received the greatest support from all stakeholders, a pointer to its acceptability as can be seen in its speedy passage.
“The NYSC Trust Fund is one of the few bills passed by the National Assembly that received the highest number of memoranda from the public in support of its passage.
“This mass appeal towards the bill points to the acceptability of the trust fund chiefly because of the role the NYSC scheme has played in shaping the Nigerian economy and the lives of average Nigerians amidst scarce resources.
“The Trust Fund therefore comes handy in consolidating funding lacuna in order to actualize the vision and mission of the scheme especially in the area of job creation and skill acquisition”, the statement noted.
“Noble as this bill is, the Coalition noted with dismay the recent antics of those they described as enemies of Nigerian youths who have started spreading blatant falsehood in an apparent attempt to discredit the bill and subject Nigerian youths to perpetual unemployment and idleness. Stating further with the presidential assent, NYSC will be better positioned to deliver world class skill acquisition and entrepreneur centers across the country to fight unemployment and grow the economy.
“It has come to public knowledge that those who choose not to acknowledge the modest legacies this administration is leaving in the various sectors of Nigerian society, especially in the area of youth development have deemed it fit to attack and bring to disrepute, the impeccable image of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and by extension the Trust Fund, without which the scheme will be bankrupt and unable to meet its obligation to Nigerian youths in the nearest future owing to the increasing number of youths enrolling annually.
“It is our position that this scheme has benefited every Nigerian and family, therefore, anybody trying to tarnish the image of the scheme is out for mischief and must not be taken seriously”, the statement added.
