By Godfrey AKON
Two months after the sacking of a former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Brig. General Yusha’u Ahmed as the substantive DG.
The new DG, the NYSC Director, Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, on Sunday stated that Gen. Ahmed will officially be assuming office on Monday.
Before his appointment, Mrs. Christy Uba was overseeing the scheme following the removal of Brig. Gen. B Muhammad Fadah in November 2022.
“We are going to release a statement tomorrow. The handing-over holds Monday by 11:30 am at NYSC headquarters, Abuja,” he noted.
Mrs Uba is the NYSC Director of Information and Communications Technology and the first woman to be to lead the agency since its establishment in 1973.
Fadah and his controversies
The former DG Fadah’s removal came barely six months after he assumed office in May 2022 and became the 19th person to hold the position of NYSC DG.
He was enmeshed in several controversies with series of allegations against him bordering on corruption, nepotism, fraud, and religious bias.
In a letter on September 2, 2022, authored on behalf of the Governing Board of NYSC by its chairman, Fatima Abubakar, and addressed to the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare, Fadah was accused of incompetence and acting contrary to the spirit of the scheme.
The letter noted that some of the petitions against Fadah queried his academic qualifications and age, adding that the board had earlier called and spoken to the DG concerning the allegations “but failed to fulfil his promise to change.”
Speaking on Fadah’s removal then, the Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency, CESJET, while applauding the sack, dubbed him as unfit for the position.
CESJET’s executive director, Comrade Isaac Ikpa, accused Fadah of demonstrating a lack of vision and purpose for the NYSC and was rightfully shown the exit.
“As an organization dedicated to good governance in Nigeria, we welcome the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve the NYSC DG of his position, which is long overdue. Brig Gen MK Fadah has been a misfit from the first day he assumed office. He displayed a lack of vision and purpose for achieving the mandate of the critical NYSC,” Ikpa said.
“It is on record that the past six months have been the most unproductive era in the annals of the NYSC as the erstwhile DG turned the NYSC into a fiefdom where his cronies took over the operations of the scheme to the detriment of directors and head of departments.
“It was an era of nepotism and backwardness on the reforms introduced in the scheme by previous leadership. It, therefore, was no surprise that the erstwhile DG engaged in acts that were unbecoming of a senior officer of the Nigerian Army.
“The era of Brig Gen MK Fadah at the NYSC was laced with forgery and incapacity to deliver results when it matters most. Instead, he went on a spending spree, diverting funds meant for corpers welfare and other sundry matters.
“We would like to inform the general public that Brig Gen. MK Fadah forged his academic qualifications and falsified his age, which an investigation by the NYSC Board revealed.
“Therefore, it is a shame that such an anomaly would happen in an organization central to youth development in the country. Therefore, the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve him of his appointment is a step in the right direction in halting the decline in the NYSC.
“The Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency hold the firm conviction that Brig. Gen. MK Fadah should be court marshalled for forgery and falsification of age that aided his appointment as NYSC DG.”
