The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Sokoto State Coordinator, Mr Tyoyer Gabriel Ter, has called for the retention and reform of the NYSC scheme, saying it remains Nigeria’s most effective tool for national integration and rural development.

Mr Gabriel Ter stated this while addressing newsmen at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Wamakko, Wamakko Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

According to Mr Ter, such unpatriotic calls to scrap the 53-year-old scheme were misplaced and would create a “human capital vacuum” in rural communities.

“If you remove NYSC today, who will teach in Isa, Sabon Birni, and Gwadabawa tomorrow? Who will run our PHCs in Kebbe and Tambuwal? The states cannot post their own staff there,” he said.

Mr Ter noted that the scheme deploys over 400,000 graduates annually, with a significant number serving as teachers, health workers, and agricultural extension agents in underserved areas.

He cited Sokoto’s 2025/2026 service year, where no fewer than 1,200 corps members were posted to rural schools and 340 to primary health centres, among others.

“The NYSC scheme is now a household name across Nigeria, and it has become extremely indispensable to the country.”

He, however, re-echoed calls for the reform of the scheme and ensuring its adequate funding, urging the National Assembly to expedite action on the ongoing efforts to provide the direly-needed Legislative backing for the proposed NYSC Trust Fund.

Underscoring the urgent desire for the fund to take off, Ter said that it would bolster the adequate funding of the scheme to make it more plausible and efficacious.

While applauding the Sokoto State government for providing one of the best NYSC camps in Nigeria, the Coordinator further appealed to it to hasten the planned renovation of the camp, stating that the project had since been approved by Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto.

He said that some of the structures at the camp, being one of the most beautiful ones in the country, are in a serious state of disrepair.

Mr Ter cited a female hostel that had been completely abandoned, saying, “If it is urgently rehabilitated, we can smoothly accommodate no fewer than 3,000 corps members at a go.

He also decried the dearth of chairs for the corps members, especially during the routine lectures during orientation exercises, lamenting, “Often, some of the corps members sit on the bare floor during such lectures.”

Ter, however, acknowledged that some notable friends of the scheme, like banks, had donated some chairs to redress the rugby situation, appealing for more support in that direction.

He also spoke on the urgent need for an additional 5,000- capacity lecture hall to augment the extant 700-capacity one at the camp.

On water supply, Mr Ter said,” We have no issue as regards the supply of potable water as we have three fully functional boreholes provided by the state government.

“Also, we have no issue with the power supply as the state government has provided three standby generators.

“But we need the provision of routine subvention from the state government, although that is in the pipeline.”

Mr Ter was also elated with the tremendous support the scheme has been getting from Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, Sen. Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, as well as numerous other well-wishers who have been coming to the aid of NYSC and the corps members.

On security concerns, the coordinator acknowledged that posting corps members to high-risk areas was a challenge.

He, however, said that the scheme had strengthened collaboration with the security agencies and traditional rulers to ensure safer placements.

“We don’t post corps members to troubled zones without clearance from the DSS, Police, and local leaders.

“Our priority is safety, but we cannot abandon rural Nigeria because of fear,” he added.

Addressing the call for reform, Mr Ter said the NYSC had already begun a transition from a mere service year to a skills acquisition platform.

He highlighted the National Internship Scheme, the newly launched ₦2bn innovation fund, and the ongoing revival of NYSC farms in Kebbi, Oyo, Bauchi, and the FCT.

“In 2026, we’re targeting 50,000 more slots and tying Community Development Service to real, certified skills. A corps member will leave NYSC with a job link, not just a certificate,” he said.

On the 2026 food crisis, Mr Ter said NYSC farms were being expanded to train corps members in fishery, poultry, and crop production.

He added, “We have 418,000 corps members yearly. That’s the largest agric labour force in Nigeria. If we train them properly, they can feed themselves and the nation,” he said.

Mr Ter urged state governments to increase support for corps members, noting that Sokoto had improved accommodation and allowance payments in 2025.

He said, “NYSC is not perfect. But you don’t demolish a house because the roof leaks. You fix the roof.”

The coordinator’s remarks come as the National Assembly debates bills to make NYSC optional amid rising insecurity and youth unemployment.