Nigerian govt to replace NYSC khaki with adire

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 sweeping reforms designed to modernise the scheme and boost indigenous industries.

Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, made the disclosure on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, explaining that the initiative is aimed at encouraging local textile production while ensuring government spending benefits the Nigerian economy.

“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.

Beyond the planned uniform change, the minister revealed that corps members would, under the new policy, be deployed based on their academic qualifications and professional training.

He explained that graduates of education-related courses, for example, would be posted to schools instead of being assigned without consideration for 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.

On security, Olawande said the government is reviewing a proposal that would allow prospective corps members to serve in regions where they studied or are already familiar with the environment, especially in locations affected by security challenges.

According to him, the arrangement would ease the concerns of parents and corps members while making the deployment process more efficient.

“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 also dismissed speculation that the military would be removed from the NYSC, describing the reports as misleading.

The proposed changes follow the approval of a comprehensive reform package for the NYSC by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Monday, marking the first major overhaul of the scheme since it was established in 1973.

As part of the reforms, the FEC directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to amend the NYSC Act and other relevant regulations to reflect the new policy direction.

Under the new structure, the scheme will be headed operationally by a civilian, while the military will continue to provide security support for corps members across the country.