The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, has confirmed that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) will replace its traditional khaki uniform with Adire fabric as part of the reforms recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Olawande said the decision was designed to promote local industries by ensuring that government spending supports Nigerian textile producers.
According to the minister, the new uniform will be made from Adire, a locally produced fabric with a long history in Nigeria.
“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,” he said.
Beyond the uniform change, Olawande disclosed that the government is also overhauling the corps members’ deployment process to ensure graduates are posted in line with their academic and professional backgrounds.
He explained that graduates with education qualifications, for instance, would be deployed to schools based on the training they received and the information gathered during orientation camp, rather than through the existing random posting system.
“That 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.
The minister also said the government is reviewing the deployment process to address security concerns in parts of the country.
According to him, prospective corps members may increasingly be posted to areas where they studied and are already familiar with the environment, particularly in regions facing security challenges.
He said the approach would reduce anxiety among parents and corps members while making the deployment process more practical.
If we have a particular area that is having insecurity, instead of probably forcing people or parents to start talking, we must also give them an opportunity that ‘okay, who are those in that area, that schooled in that area, that know much about that area?’ Not just somebody, for example, let me say from South-West to North-East.
“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 added.
Military Not Being Removed From NYSC
Olawande also dismissed reports claiming that the military would be removed from the NYSC under the proposed reforms, describing the reports as a misunderstanding of the government’s plans.
He stressed that although the scheme’s operational leadership would be civilian-led, the military would continue to play a critical role, particularly in providing security for corps members.
We are not taking the military out of NYSC, it’s just a misconception and the way we read some of the things that were put out and that is the aspect that we need to start making research before reacting. Military is not taken away, there is no how you can take the military away. It is just saying that we are moving away from military mobilisation to civilian mobilisation,” the minister said.
The reforms follow Monday’s approval by the Federal Executive Council of a comprehensive restructuring of the NYSC, marking the first major overhaul of the scheme since it was established 53 years ago.
As part of the reform package, the FEC directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Youth Development to amend the NYSC Act and relevant regulations to accommodate the approved changes.
Under the new framework, the NYSC’s operational leadership will be headed by a civilian, while the military will continue to provide security support across the country.
The Federal Government said the reforms are intended to transform the NYSC into a more skills-oriented and productivity-driven institution that supports youth empowerment and aligns with its ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.