In a bid to curb the issuance of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates to unqualified graduates, the NYSC has demobilised 54 corps members who were illegally mobilised by the University of Calabar.
Brigadier General YD Ahmed, the NYSC Director General, announced this action on Saturday in Abuja, revealing that the affected individuals would face legal prosecution.
General Ahmed further disclosed that 19 individuals who had initially registered online for mobilisation were also barred from service.
Additionally, four Certificates of National Service linked to other culprits were not produced by the NYSC.
This adds to the earlier voiding of 101 certificates, bringing the total number of invalidated certificates to 178.
The Director General commended Professor Florence Obi, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, for her transparency in reporting the issue.
“The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar came here to report that she observed some names appeared on the institution’s list, and they ought not to have been there.
“She checked the list the school gave us, and I told her that their certificates would be invalidated. I give kudos to the Vice-Chancellor,” General Ahmed said.
He also highlighted a previous incident involving a bread seller being mobilised from the same institution, emphasising the broader issue of fraud in matriculation and course registration processes. “There are bad eggs in many places that generate matriculation numbers and courses for their candidates,” he added.
In response to these challenges, General Ahmed reiterated the NYSC’s commitment to strengthening its mobilisation process.
“We will leave no stone unturned towards sanitising our mobilisation process,” he stated. The NYSC plans to intensify collaboration with Heads of Corps Producing Institutions and other relevant stakeholders to address the issue.
General Ahmed also urged employers to verify the authenticity of NYSC certificates presented for job placements.
“Those who are responsible for imputing the data of graduates should be people of integrity,” he emphasised.
