The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has shed light on how an undercover journalist, who had previously participated in the mandatory one-year program in 2019, was able to re-enroll in 2023.
During a recent interview on Channels Television, NYSC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Eddy Megwa, revealed that the reporter altered his email address and phone number, enabling him to rejoin the scheme.
Megwa stated, “It is not that we don’t have checks and balances in place to detect possible breaches of the system. When the undercover reporter first put in his data, the system rejected him because he had served in the scheme before.” He further explained that the reporter’s change of email and phone number allowed the system to accept him, leading to his initial posting to Osun State.
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Megwa acknowledged that the reporter’s actions were driven by a specific objective and assured that measures are being taken to prevent such incidents in the future. He also admitted that the NYSC does not maintain a database of graduates for the scheme and instead relies on lists provided by university senators indicating the expected number of graduates.
Despite the incorporation of the National Identification Number (NIN) into the scheme three years ago, Megwa could not clarify why the discrepancies in the reporter’s NIN biodata and the information provided for his second mobilization did not alert the scheme to his identity.
In related news, Okechukwu Favour, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in the Republic of Benin, has urged the federal government to reconsider its blanket ban on certificates and degrees from higher institutions in Benin.
Appearing on Channels television as well, Favour expressed concern for over 15,000 Nigerian students studying in Benin, whose academic futures are now uncertain due to the ban. He said, “We have over 15,000 Nigerians studying in that country alone. The ban will affect legitimate students who are at various levels of their studies.”
Favour argued that not all universities or students are involved in illicit activities and called for a more nuanced approach. He stated, “While one agrees that the undercover reporter has helped to expose some misdeeds, he also breached certain conventions in the process. Our appeal is that let the guilty ones be punished; spare the innocent.”
This comes in the wake of the Federal Government’s ban on graduates from certain foreign universities, prompted by the reporter’s revelation that he obtained a degree from a Benin Republic university in just six weeks and was subsequently mobilized for the NYSC one-year program.
In response to these developments, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN, announced the formation of a committee to review the entire system of accrediting foreign universities and evaluating their certificates. #NYSC