The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has denied diverting the sum of N23.5 million donated to corps members who suffered permanent disabilities during their service year.
The said sum was donated to the corps members under a public/private sector partnership (PPP) known as NYSC Hope Alive Initiative.
Under the PPP, the Ibeto Group and Chief Godswill Akpabio who was then Governor of Akwa Ibom State, each promised to donate N5 million, while Heritage promised to donate N1.5 million to each of the nine beneficiaries, bringing the total to N23.5 million.
These donations were promised during the 2014 NYSC President’s Honour Award.
According to a statement by the NYSC, which was signed by its Director of Press and Public Relation, Mrs Abosede Aderibigbe, only Akpabio fulfilled his promise.
The statement said the donation by the ex-Governor had been disbursed to all the nine affected ex-corps members.
The body also said the fact was verifiable from the organisations that promised but failed to fulfil their promises.
The statement flayed a report insinuating that the money had been diverted, accusing those behind the reports as aiming to tarnish the image of the body.
Furthermore, the statement said the writers of the report failed to contact the NYSC to hear its side of the story before going ahead with their report.
Also, NYSC noted that the Federal Government had fulfilled its promise of providing permanent employment for the affected corps members.