The Federal Government has announced plans to replace the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) traditional khaki uniform with locally made Adire fabric as part of a broad reform package designed to strengthen the scheme and support Nigeria’s local textile industry.
The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, revealed the proposal on Thursday during an appearance on The Morning Brief on Channels Television. He said the initiative would ensure government spending benefits local manufacturers rather than foreign producers.
“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.
Olawande also disclosed that the government intends to make the deployment of corps members more aligned with their academic and professional backgrounds. Under the proposed framework, graduates would be assigned to places of primary assignment based on their qualifications and the preferences indicated during orientation camp.
According to him, graduates with education-related degrees, for example, would be posted to schools through a more structured placement process instead of the current system, which often assigns corps members without considering their areas of specialization.
“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.
Addressing security concerns surrounding the scheme, the minister said the government is also reviewing its deployment policy to allow many prospective corps members to serve in regions where they studied or are already familiar with the environment, particularly in areas affected by insecurity.
He explained that the approach would ease the fears of parents and participants while making the posting process more practical and efficient. Those who voluntarily choose to serve in other regions would still be free to do so.
“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 said.
The minister further dismissed claims that the military would be excluded from the NYSC, describing the reports as inaccurate. He clarified that while the restructured scheme would place its operational leadership under civilian management, the military would continue to play its role in ensuring the security of corps members across the country.
The planned reforms come after the Federal Executive Council approved a comprehensive overhaul of the NYSC earlier this week—the first major review of the programme since it was established in 1973.
As part of the implementation process, the council directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to begin amending the NYSC Act and related regulations to accommodate the approved changes.