The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, in collaboration with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, has arrested some officials of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC running fake orientation camps and recruiting fake Corps members, as well as University operators giving fake admission to students.

Chairman of the commission, Ekpo Nta, who disclosed this during a public lecture organised by the Abuja chapter of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association over the weekend, expressed displeasure that some Universities were running courses not accredited by the National Universities Commission, NUC, thereby giving false hope to students.

“We have arrested some of the officials involved in this and now, we are going back to even expose universities that are running unapproved programmes for these youths,” he said, although he declined naming those arrested as investigations are still on-going.

Nta further stressed: “If you give a young man admission to run a programme that is not approved by NUC knowing that he is not going to be accepted for NYSC service scheme why then are you admitting him without telling him the consequences? When he finishes, he now decides to begin to play games to get into fake NYSC camps and go for fake posting, when you start with a lie, you continue with a lie,” he said.

He also warned admission seekers to be careful not to register for courses are not accredited by the NUC, identifying some unaccredited courses to include those that have to do with skill improvement, which are not endorsed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.

“Make sure it is an NUC- accredited course and that you are qualified to run masters programme or participate in the NYSC afterwards. Make sure you don’t go and start acquiring fake certificates,” he warned.

The ICPC chairman also advised civil servants to start investing in profitable ventures, while they are still in service to enable them have a secured future, rather than stealing public funds.

“Don’t wait until you retire because two things are involved; it is either you steal money and ICPC will be after you or you might be unlucky that somebody is stealing your pension,” he said.

Also speaking, the director-general, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, NOTAP, Umar Bindir, said that in all continents across the world, including Africa, the small and medium scale enterprises,  provide between 60 to 75 per cent of the job opportunities.

Bindir, who was represented by Dan’azumi Ibrahim, NOTAP’s director, technology promotion and commercialisation, delivered a lecture entitled: “Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) as Avenues for Wealth Creation in Nigeria”, in which he advised Nigerians to take advantage of the research results in the country to establish SMEs.

“These technologies could be upgraded to provide the needed employment as well as wealth creation for our people,” he said.

In his remark, Chairman of the UIAA, Abuja, Ismailia Alasa,  said that the topic of the public lecture was carefully considered because it was critical to efforts at addressing the challenges of poverty, unemployment and social insecurity facing the country.

“It is even unfortunate that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is currently on a protracted strike,” he noted.