President Muhammadu Buhari has granted automatic employment in the Federal Civil Service to 65 former members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Speaking at the NYSC 50th Anniversary Honours Award held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on Thursday, May 18, Buhari said out of the 65 recipients, 52 individuals received the Presidential Honours Awards, while the remaining 13 were physically challenged ex-corps Members recognised under the NYSC Hope Alive programme.

In addition to the employment, the President also disclosed that both groups would be awarded scholarships to pursue their education up to the Doctorate Degree level at any university of their choice within the country.

He further announced a cash prize of N250,000 for each of the top award winners, and N200,000 for other award recipients, including the physically challenged ex-corps members under the NYSC Hope Alive Programme.

According to a statement issued on Thursday by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, President Buhari also issued a directive to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Civil Service Commission, and the Minister of Education to ensure adherence to the employment offer and the granting of scholarships.

Buhari also used the occasion to pay tribute to corps members from the batches being honoured, who lost their lives under various circumstances while serving the nation.

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“But for their transitioning, some of them might have been here today as part of the honourees. May God grant their souls peaceful repose. They remain our heroes and heroines. The Nation shall continue to remember their sacrifices towards building a strong, indivisible and egalitarian entity,” he said.

The President also sympathised with the ex-corps members that sustained varying degrees of disability during the service year, acknowledging their significant sacrifices for the progress of the country and assuring them that the nation stands in solidarity with them.

“Your labour shall not be in vain,” Buhari said.

President Buhari further congratulated the founding fathers, past and present managers of the NYSC on the Scheme’s Golden Jubilee, commending their enduring faith, which he has maintained NYSC as a vital platform for mobilising the youth towards national unity and development.

Buhari equally hailed all Nigerians who have answered the call for national service in the past 50 years for their patriotic zeal and commitment to the NYSC mandate.

He stressed that it has justified its establishment as an interventionist agency, with a core mandate to foster national unity across the country, thereby breaking down ethnic suspicions and divisions.

“The multiplicity of marriages contracted over the years by corps members, cutting across the boundaries of ethnicity and religion in no small measure, justifies my assertion,” President Buhari added.

He also applauded their discipline and neutrality when serving as ad hoc personnel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), including during the 2023 general elections, which he said contributed to enhancing the credibility of the electoral system.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, while commending the former corps members chosen for the  Presidential Honour, said their sacrifices and commendable contributions, reflect the positive values they embodied during their service year.

The Star