Minister commends senate for passing NYSC Trust Fund Bill

The Minister of State for Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, has commended the senate for passing the NYSC Trust Fund Bill.

He said that the passage is a huge boost toward enhancing skill acquisition, training and generally empower graduates who took part in the national youth service programme.

The commendation is in a statement issued by the ministry’s Head, Press and Public Relations, Mrs Maryam Yusuf in Abuja.

Yusuf quoted the minister as saying “the painstaking legislative process that culminated in the eventual passage of the bill since it was first presented more than two years ago was a huge relief that the 10th assembly has now made history.

“The passage of the game-changing bill that promises to speed up efforts to productively engage Nigeria’s graduates is a great milestone for which everyone who took part in its actualisation deserves a great deal of commendation.

“It is refreshing and heartwarming to receive the news of the passage of this important Bill. I congratulate the NYSC family in particular and extend a special appreciation to the sponsor of the bill, Sen. Yemi Adaramodu, for his dogged commitment.

“Now, we have a good pedestal upon which to stand in our efforts to improve camp facilities, enhance the welfare of youth corps members and staff of the scheme and reinvigorate the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) initiative of the NYSC.”

Olawande urged stakeholders in the youth development sector to continue to partner the ministry to evolve ingenious ways to address the challenges of unemployment and skill gap bedeviling youths.

He said that the trust fund bill could be the beginning of other lofty initiatives aimed at harnessing resources for holistic youth empowerment.

Sponsored by Sen. Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti), the bill seeks to provide sustainable source of funds for the NYSC, skill acquisition, training and empowerment of youth corps members.

The bill also seeks to provide source of funds for training and retraining of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) personnel, development of camps and NYSC formations and facilities.