African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has pledged to abolish the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and scrap the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) if elected President of Nigeria.
Sowore made the announcement in a post shared on his official X account, where he outlined what he described as key reforms aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s tertiary education and youth development system.
According to him, universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions should be solely responsible for admitting students based on transparent, merit-based criteria without the involvement of JAMB.
“When I become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, JAMB will be abolished.
“Admission into tertiary institutions should be determined by the institutions themselves under a transparent, merit-based system, not by another layer of bureaucracy,” he wrote.
The former presidential candidate also proposed scrapping the NYSC scheme in its current form, arguing that Nigerian youths need employment opportunities rather than compulsory national service.
He said his administration would replace the scheme with a two-year voluntary National Job Corps focused on employment, skills acquisition and entrepreneurship.
“The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in its current form, will be scrapped.
“In its place, we will establish a two-year, voluntary National Job Corps that guarantees participants meaningful employment, practical skills, entrepreneurship support, and pathways into permanent careers.”
Sowore maintained that young Nigerians deserve the freedom to choose their career paths instead of being compelled to participate in mandatory programmes.
“Nigeria’s young people do not need more compulsory schemes. They need opportunities, jobs, skills, and the freedom to choose their future,” he added.
His proposals have since sparked debate online, with many Nigerians expressing mixed reactions over the future of JAMB and the NYSC should such reforms ever be implemented.
