A growing wave of relocations has hit the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Edo State, with many corps members abandoning their posts due to unpaid state allowances, poor feeding arrangements, and deteriorating living conditions at the orientation camp in Okada, Ovia North-East Local Government Area. The State Coordinator, Mrs. Frances Ben-Ushie, raised the alarm during the swearing-in of the 2025 Batch ‘A’ Stream I corps members on April 26, 2025, calling for immediate government intervention to stem the tide.
Ben-Ushie blamed the mass departures on Edo’s failure to provide feeding augmentation during the mandatory orientation course and the refusal to pay corps members their statutory allowances, a situation that she warned could cripple the NYSC’s impact in the state. Highlighting the urgency, she appealed directly to Governor Monday Okpebholo to act swiftly, stressing that the absence of critical support measures severely undermines both the morale and welfare of serving corps members.
Infrastructure decay at the Okada camp has compounded frustrations, with Ben-Ushie lamenting the lack of annual state subventions stipulated by the NYSC Act, as well as inadequate hostel accommodations that have left both corps members and camp officials stranded. She revealed that the dining hall is now being used for all hall activities due to the absence of a multipurpose facility, a situation she described as “untenable” for the volume of corps members arriving each year.
Operational challenges, including water scarcity, electricity failures, and the lack of a proper access gate into the camp, have driven up costs and hampered effective programme delivery. Ben-Ushie also decried the absence of operational vehicles needed to monitor corps members’ welfare across Edo’s 18 local government areas, warning that failure to address these logistics gaps would erode the credibility of the NYSC in the state.
Encroachment on camp land due to poor demarcation and documentation has created further legal and security risks, Ben-Ushie disclosed, adding that unauthorized individuals now regularly trespass onto NYSC property without consequence. She maintained that urgent intervention was necessary to safeguard the integrity of the permanent site and protect government assets from further loss.
Despite the grim realities, the NYSC Coordinator commended the Edo State Government for providing buses to assist corps members in reaching their Places of Primary Assignment (PPA). However, she emphasized that without resolving the core challenges around infrastructure, welfare, and funding, Edo risks becoming one of the least preferred postings among Nigeria’s graduates.
Governor Okpebholo, represented at the event by Mrs. Aiyegbeni Balogun, promised corps members improved welfare and security, urging them to explore opportunities in Edo’s agriculture, education, tech, and tourism sectors. He assured that the government was committed to creating a safe and enabling environment for young Nigerians to thrive and make meaningful contributions during their service year.
