The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has equipped 58,933 corps members with various digital skills in the last two years as part of its entrepreneurship drive for youth empowerment.
The NYSC Director General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, disclosed this in a goodwill message at a retreat organised by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development in Abuja, with the theme “Achieving the Youth-Focused Presidential Priorities and Deliverables.”
He noted that the scheme had continued to enjoy strong support from the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the Nigerian Government, saying “NYSC remains committed to advancing education, health, and social investment as pillars of national development.”
General Nafiu revealed that as at the second quarter of 2025, 56,013 corps members had received ICT training at NYSC orientation camps nationwide, while a partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre provided digital skills training for 2,920 female Corps members.
He noted that NYSC had “been contributing to one of the key deliverables of the sixth priority area galvanising the internal and external economies of scale for youth entrepreneurial sharpening through inter-agency engagement and collaboration.”
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The DG further explained that the scheme would strengthen its existing partnerships to drive empowerment initiatives and youth support systems through enhanced collaboration with Access Bank, Unity Bank, Wema Bank, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, NNPC Foundation/Kudimata, and Activate Success under its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
According to him, “these partnerships, along with other initiatives, had enabled NYSC to contribute to the second deliverable: improving employability and youth access to business and income-generating opportunities.”
General Nafiu revealed that 385,461 Corps members participated in the SAED programme between June 2023 and the second quarter of 2025, benefiting from mentorship, internships, apprenticeships, and career development opportunities.
He said; “Through our public and private sector partners, 1,118 corps members were given financial support to start their businesses over the last two years. NYSC has also made great contributions in education, with 574,000 corps members deployed to teaching assignments especially in rural schools from June 2023 to date.
“In health, 38,112 corps members were posted to health facilities nationwide, also with priority given to rural deployment, resulting in improved access to quality healthcare. Furthermore, as part of the scheme’s contributions to achieving universal health coverage, 49,839 Nigerians benefited from medical outreaches under the NYSC Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers within the same period.”
The DG described these achievements as the product of a shared vision and a commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Nigerian Government.
He reiterated NYSC’s readiness to continue working with the Ministry of Youth Development and other stakeholders to accelerate national development.
In his address, the Minister for Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande urged Nigerian youths to make effective use of the youth help desk domiciled at the Ministry.
He recalled that President Bola Tinubu had earlier charged the Ministry to become a “true place of hope and empowerment” for the youth.
Olawande highlighted the Ministry’s achievements, saying: “We have trained 15,509 youths on digital skills, surpassing the targeted figure of 10,000. We planned to support 80,000 youths in mentorship and career development but recorded 97,212 beneficiaries.
“In crime reduction and peace-building, we trained 5,023 youths. The Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA) has so far recorded over 250,000 participants.”
He added that there was a need to speed up operations on the National Youth Investment Fund to fast-track other initiatives and achievements of the Ministry.