-Passing-Out Parade replaced with “Graduation Ceremony” as program shifts to skills acquisition.
President Bola Tinubu says the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) will prioritise indigenes, residents and graduates of institutions in states deemed high-risk during deployment, as part of reforms aimed at strengthening the scheme.
On Monday the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved seven major reforms to improve the NYSC’s efficiency. Ayodele Olawande, minister of youth development, said after the meeting that the scheme’s one‑year duration will be maintained and that the reforms include digitalisation, a shift from military to civilian leadership, and a redesigned NYSC uniform.
In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, the president said his administration is reforming the NYSC to make it safer and smarter for graduates. Deployment to security‑challenged states will be guided by risk assessments and will prioritise indigenes, residents, graduates of institutions in those states, and those from neighbouring states within the same geopolitical zones, he said.
Tinubu described the package as the most consequential overhaul of the NYSC since its creation in 1973. He said the scheme’s mission of national unity remains vital and must be preserved, noting that young people—nearly 70 percent of the population—are “the engine of the one‑trillion‑dollar economy” the government is building.
“We are repositioning the NYSC from a mobilisation scheme into a national development platform for skills, employability, productivity and enterprise,” the president said. He added that every corps member must leave the scheme better prepared for work, enterprise and national service.
The administration will also strengthen governance, standards and the dignity of the NYSC. The scheme will be led by a civilian director‑general supported by three executive directors, including a security services executive director who will be a military or paramilitary officer. Orientation camps will be assessed under a national grading and certification framework, and states will be expected to meet minimum standards.
The traditional Passing‑Out Parade will become a Graduation Ceremony, reflecting the aim that corps members will graduate as trained civic and professional contributors to national development.
Tinubu commended stakeholders involved in the reform process, including Olawande, Hadiza Bala Usman, special adviser on policy and coordination to the president, and the federal ministry of education. He also directed the ministries of youth development and justice to begin the process of amending the NYSC Act and related regulations.
The new policy includes 11 specialised streams for corps members and a six‑week camp arrangement.
