The management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has denied forcing Muslim corps members to shave their long beards to avoid being evicted from 2023 Batch 'A' Stream Two Orientation Camp.
The corps gave the reaction in a release by Eddy Megwa, Director, Press and Public Relations who said that Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), under the leadership of Prof. Ishaq Akintola, had also confirmed the story to be untrue after its independent investigation.
The statement reads: “To put the records straight, the NYSC from inception till date has its code of conduct which Corps Members always comply with throughout their service year.
“In addition, there is no iota of truth in the misleading, baseless and mischievous story, which only emanated as a fictitious imagination of the uninformed writer.
“Similarly, since the commencement of the on-going 2023 Batch 'A' Stream Two Orientation Course, no Corps Member, either Muslim or Christian has been evicted from any of the NYSC Orientation Camps across the country.
“It is however worthy to note that the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), under the leadership of Prof. Ishaq Akintola, having confirmed that the story is false appreciated NYSC Management for mentoring Nigerian youths without religious or ethnic sentiments.
“We also want to place on record the effective collaboration recorded with the above body over the years. MURIC is indeed part of the NYSC success story till date.
“NYSC Management therefore calls on the initiator of the libellous story and other rumour peddlers to stop attributing fake news to the Scheme or be ready for prosecution.
“The Scheme would continue to consolidate on its achievements of the past fifty years and also strive to mentor Nigerian youths towards successful future.”