Amaechi Tasks FG On Adequate Funding Of NYSC

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has enjoined the federal government to effectively fund the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Amaechi said this yesterday, when the National Governing Board of the NYSC paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

According to him, state governments were being made to shoulder responsibilities of the federal government.

He therefore called for more attention for the NYSC, saying the seeming neglect from the federal government was making corps members go through challenges.

“I don’t know if you realise that NYSC is a Federal scheme. If you know it’s a federal scheme, why are you transferring responsibility to the State government? Even the allowances we are paying, we are not supposed to pay.

“I served in Abuja, nobody paid me one dime outside what the Federal Government paid us as allowance. The vehicles the youth service was using in Abuja were bought by the Federal Government, why then do we transfer Federal Government responsibility to the States?” Amaechi asked.

“We are virtually funding all Federal agencies in the state. If we don’t want NYSC then we should say we don’t want NYSC, but it solves a lot of problems for us and when I say us, I mean the nation, including the fact that it creates temporary employment for corps members for one year.

“But the most important thing is that the Federal Government should stand and take over their responsibilities, because at the end of the day, we would all go to the Federation Account meeting and everybody will take their own share; and then they transfer their responsibility to us.”

“I am not saying we would not assist NYSC, we have always done that but what I am saying is that most of these responsibilities are Federal Government responsibilities.

“So when you finish addressing me, please go and address the Director General of the NYSC board to simply ask the Federal Government to make funds available to you or to the NYSC,” he added.

Tijani Adekambi who led the NYSC delegation had earlier thanked the governor for the support to the NYSC, adding that they were in the state to inspect facilities of the scheme.

“I wish to express deep appreciation for the support your government has given to the NYSC scheme and which you have continued to give,” Adekambi said.