Akwa Ibom State is rated among the nine best comfortable states in the country which graduates of tertiary institutions are clamouring to serve their one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, according to a report by Naija.ng.
Other states are Lagos, Ogun, Plateau, Enugu, Rivers, Cross River, Osun and Niger.
Apart from the most comfortable states, corps members are also interested in the list of states that pay the highest remuneration to them.
Of the 15 states, Lagos State pays corps members the highest- ₦15,000. A corps member who works in ministry receives ₦10,000 while the one serving in hospital institution gets ₦5,000.
In Ebonyi State, a corps member is paid ₦15,000. Akwa Ibom pays ₦10,000 to a corps member in the ministry while parastatal and private sector pay the same amount or less.
Enugu State pays ₦10,000, Sokoto pays ₦4,000, but people serving in the state hospital institutions collect ₦9,000. Niger State pays ₦6,000 as well as Delta, Ekiti, Kano, Ogun, Osun, Abia and Jigawa States pay ₦5,000 NYSC members. Oyo State pays ₦3,800, Cross River State, ₦3,090 while Bayelsa and Zamfara State pay ₦3,000 to corps members.
A report monitored from NAIJ.com shows that of all the cities available for NYSC course, Lagos and Abuja have been the most popular among graduates in the recent years. This obviously happened because most graduates dream of living and serving in big commercial cities.
The officials who introduced the policy are of the opinion that placing NYSC members in big metropolis are killing the spirit of the programme.
Also, the new rules state that the only categories of NYSC members that can request concessionary postings are married women and those with health-related problems and the physically disabled corps members.
National Youth Service Corp, which was founded in 1973, was originally meant as a way for young people to develop the feeling of unity, dignity, and patriotism for their country. Years later, it is still helping Nigerian youths form a sense of unity and do important work for the sake of their country, while learning a lot of new useful information about Nigerian history and various cultures. In fact, the scheme is considered to be the official next step in most young people’s life and holds a significant place in the Nigerian culture.
After applying for NYSC, the young graduates have to spend three weeks at the “orientation camp”, which works like a military boot camp. During this time, they are separated from their family and friends and have to rely only on themselves.
After the orientation period is completed, the youngsters are sent somewhere away from home to learn about various cultures along with serving the country and gaining some work experience. When the course is over, all the graduates must attend the “passing out ceremony”.
At this event, corps members honorably receive their certificates and officially finish their programme.
Source: Naija.ng
