The formation of the National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund, according to Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, is long overdue.
He spoke at a public hearing on a bill to establish the NYSCTF and a bill to provide provision for the establishment of the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Trust Fund held by the House Committee on Youths Development in Abuja on Thursday.
“The National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund Bill is an essential and long overdue conversation about the future of the scheme and the options of reforming it so that in whatever form it continues to exist, it serves the best interest of our beloved country,” he said.
Gbajabiamila, represented by House Leader Alhassan Ado Doguwa, said: “As legislators we must continue to strive to find answers to this very important and critical questions but we must also be innovative in the proposals we make for this reform,” he said.
Osarieme Osunbo, a former governor of Edo State, advised the committee to pay close attention to the monies’ sourcing and use in order to avoid the abuses that have been linked with Trust Funds in recent years.
Major-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, said the Trust Fund is crucial for the empowerment of corps members and will help develop and offer camp and training facilities for the scheme.
