2015 NYSC President’s Award: Why 71 out of 222 corps members were disqualified – DG

The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, Monday, revealed that 71 out of 222 corps members shortlisted for the forthcoming NYSC President’s Award were automatically disqualified, because they sought concessional positing. Olawumi, who made the revelation at the opening ceremony of the 2015 President’s NYSC Honours Award National Selection Committee meeting in Abuja, noted that to qualify, corps members must distinguished him or herself in the four cardinal areas of NYSC operational programme. “To win a President’s NYSC Honours Award, corps members must distinguish him or herself in the four cardinal areas of NYSC operation namely; Orientation programme, Primary assignment, Community Development Service (CDS) and the winding up programme. “For the selection process to be transparent, there are criteria but there also people that can be disqualified, even if they have made tangible contribution. “These are people who sought for concessional deployment to state of their choice, these are people who sought for relocation to change from one place to the other, these are people who served in their own state of origin, these are people who used their personal money or sought money from their family members to carry out project, and people who have disciplinary case, even if they do well, they will not be considered, because they have falling short of the selection criteria,” he said. However, Olawumi explained that married women or those who sought for concessional posting based on health and granted by the scheme would be considered for the award, if they meet the requirements. “Women policy gives concession to married women, and NYSC will not be an exception,” the DG who was represented by the Director of Corps Welfare and Inspectorate, Mr Michael Ahile clarified. On this year award, Olawumi disclosed that “222 corps members have been brought forward for consideration, and out of this numbers, we have checked our computer system and we have discovered that 71 of them got concessional deployment. So, those one is automatically knocked out.” NYSC Boss therefore charged the 13-man committee on transparency as they carry out their assignment, adding that the scheme had never doubts their “ability to approach the task with high sense of patriotism, transparency, responsibility and diligence. “Though we have never experienced any case of undue interference, I feel obliged to implore you to shun whatever form of overture that could arise anywhere to interfere with your assignment.” Responding the Chairman of the committee, Dr Kevin Ihenetu promised to justify the confidence repose in them by the scheme. “We know that the task ahead of us is not an easy one. We promise to handle it with utmost sense of diligence and patriotism and come up with a result that would gladden the hearts of all and thereby justify the confidence reposed in us,” he said.