The Director General of Brigadier General Johnson Bamidele Olawumi, said this in reaction to the criticisms that trailed the introduction of the online registration for prospective corp members.
“It is not true that corps members are being asked to pay to serve their country. Far from it. The NYSC and the government appreciate the enormous sacrifice that corps members have made, and continue to make, for the unity and the development of this country,” said Olawumi.
He said based on feedbacks and requests from past corps members, the initiative was conceived and designed to lessen the costs and risks associated with corps members travelling to their schools to pick up call-up letters.
“It should be remembered that prospective corps members become the responsibility of NYSC when they show up in orientation camps, not before. So, prospective corps members (not NYSC) have always borne the costs of travelling to get their call-up letters. This has not changed and no extra burden has been imposed on our prospective corps members.
“While those who want to physically pick up their call-up letters from their schools are still allowed to do so, this initiative has created an extra option for those who wish to access their call-up letters online.
It has empowered prospective corps members to make their choice, based on their situations, preferences and assessments of the opportunity costs involved.
“Paying N4,000 to process call-up letters online is a choice for those who prefer that option. It is not a condition for national service. So, no one is being asked to pay to serve, as those who do not pay will also undertake their national service without any form of discrimination or sanction,” he said.
He added that “The N4,000 is not just for printing call-up letters. It is for the entire package of online registration, which requires the deployment of IT hardware and software and personnel to orientation camps all over the country but which also gives those who subscribe to it the advantage of processing their registration online, saving time during registration at the orientation camps and allowing them to use their thumbprints to identify themselves in case they lose or are dispossessed of their call-up letters.
“In the past, corps members who lose or are dispossessed of their call-up letters had to go through a cumbersome process of swearing affidavits, getting validation from their schools which takes time and may force them to enlist on another batch. With online registration, those who are unfortunate to lose their letters can identify themselves with their fingerprints. So the N4,000 fee is for the entire process and package of benefits.”
Olawumi said the initiative was not to extort prospective corps members, and it was designed with all sense of fairness and sensitivity.
