Why Benue versity graduates are not mobilized for service – NYSC

The Management of the Benue State University, Makurdi; and the authorities of the National Youth Service Corps have engaged in accusations and counter-accusations as to why graduating students of BSU would not be enlisted for the next batch of corps members.

The BSU said it was investigating the challenges that led to the barring of its graduating students from being mobilised for the mandatory service.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Msugh Kembe, disclosed to newsmen on Wednesday in Makurdi that the institution was shocked by the decision of the NYSC to prevent it from mobilising its prospective corps members for service.

“The NYSC did not inform the management of the institution of its decision before executing it. The organisation did not inform us that it had issues with the current list of prospective corps members from our university.

“On October 2nd, the Dean of Students reported to me that they could not upload the names of prospective corps members from the university on the NYSC portal.

“The management of the university then detailed the Liaison Officer to write a letter to find out why the university could not upload its list of prospective corps members on the NYSC portal.

“We just got a reply of the letter a few minutes ago, but we are doing our investigation to find out whether the fault is from the JAMB, NYSC or the university. But I assure you that if the problem is from our school, we will fish out the culprits and sanction them.

“We have the best forensic expert in the whole of the country from this university and we are going to engage his services to find out those behind this.

“I wonder why the NYSC did not fish out the culprits and sanction them, but decided to come down heavily against the entire university,” Kembe narrated.

However, it was gathered that the prospective corps members from the BSU and other higher institutions in the state were barred by the NYSC from partaking in the compulsory youth service programme on allegation of falsification of age and other reasons.

The situation resulted to protest by the prospective corps members who besieged the State Secretariat of the NYSC, calling for the body to reverse its decision.

The protesters also threatened to close down the NYSC Orientation Camp at Wannune, Tarka Local Government Area of the state if the decision was not reversed

The NYSC State Coordinator, Mrs. Awakessien Eno, said that the Corps discovered that student officers fielded names of overaged students or names of students that read courses that were excluded from NYSC mobilisation.

According to her, the Students Affairs unit had connived with some students who were quite ambitious and wanted to serve at all costs and registered them for service.

“An audit was carried out in most of the institutions nationwide and eventually, six major institutions were affected and many of them are actually from Benue State.

“The audit report has been sent to the affected schools and the schools are aware of what exactly is expected of them,” she said.