The Federal Government has announced plans to replace the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) traditional khaki uniform with Adire fabric as part of ongoing reforms aimed at promoting local production and repositioning the scheme.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, disclosed this on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
According to the minister, the adoption of Adire is intended to support Nigeria’s textile industry and ensure government spending benefits local manufacturers.
“It’s Adire. Adire is being produced in Nigeria. We have them in Ogun, we have them in Kwara, we have textile industries. Let’s put our money back into the country,” he said.
Olawande also said the restructured NYSC would place greater emphasis on deploying corps members according to their fields of study.
He explained that graduates with education qualifications would be posted to schools based on their professional background rather than through the current general deployment system.
He added that the new posting framework would be determined during orientation camp and aligned with participants’ areas of training.
The minister further disclosed that the government is considering posting corps members to regions where they studied, particularly in areas facing security challenges.
According to him, the measure would reduce security concerns among parents and prospective corps members while making deployments more practical.
He noted that those familiar with a particular region would be better suited for service there, although interested corps members would still be free to serve in other parts of the country.
Olawande also dismissed reports that the military would be removed from the NYSC, describing the claims as a misunderstanding.
He clarified that while the scheme’s operational leadership would become civilian-led, the military would continue to provide security support for corps members.
“We are not taking the military out of NYSC. It is just saying that we are moving away from military mobilisation to civilian mobilisation,” he said.
The reforms follow the approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of a comprehensive overhaul of the NYSC, the first major restructuring of the scheme since it was established 53 years ago.
As part of the reforms, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Youth Development have been directed to amend the NYSC Act and relevant regulations to enable implementation.
The Federal Government said the reforms are designed to transform the NYSC into a skills-driven and productivity-focused institution that supports its broader economic development agenda.
