President Bola Tinubu has approved a comprehensive overhaul of the National Youth Service Corps, with the Federal Government saying the 52-year-old scheme must be redesigned to address unemployment, funding gaps, and manpower needs.
The reform plan moves away from the 1993 framework.
Key changes in the draft reforms include a three-tier system at national, state, and local levels, with decentralized funding to reduce reliance on federal allocations described as fragile and unsustainable. Corps members will be posted to priority areas including teaching, health, agriculture, the digital economy, climate resilience, and public infrastructure to match national manpower needs.
The plan also includes post-service credit access for entrepreneurs and skill acquisition programs, with the goal of producing job creators rather than only job seekers. A proposed ₦2 billion fund will finance digital systems, seed grants, and governance reforms.
An additional 50,000 graduates have been approved for 2026, bringing planned mobilisation to 418,000. The scheme now mobilizes about 400,000 corps members yearly, compared to 2,364 in 1973. The ₦77,000 monthly allowance is already in place, and the reforms will also tackle corps member rejection and welfare gaps.
Officials said the scheme cannot run on a 1993 framework in a 2025 economy and must be redesigned to be modern, fiscally sustainable, digitally enabled, and aligned with sectoral manpower needs.
