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Claim: A Facebook user asserts that The National Youth Service Corps proposes new kits for corp members.
Verdict: False! The official website of the scheme did not have such information. The keyword search conducted also could not show that reputable media organisations reported the news.
Full Text
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a programme set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country.
Tiktoker Classy Pee posted on his page that the Service scheme proposes a new uniform for the corp members. The picture attached to the post shows a man wearing the alleged new kit, which highlights major differences from the one presently used.
The video captioned “proposed new Nysc kits” has garnered 2,543 likes, 504 comments, and 134 shares since it was posted on June 1, 2024. The video also went viral on Facebook and TikTok.
@Lola___, responding to the picture on TikTok, wrote, “E reach my turn to do NYSC, dem turn uniform to vigilante uniform.”
Another user, @bignelly, expressed her displeasure and wrote, “Abeg make me wear the old one first before they change am. I don’t like this one.” Other people also asked about the claim’s validity in the comment section.
The veracity and virality of the claim and the organisation involved made us verify the post.
Verification
The scheme’s website has a section where you can find the latest updates about the scheme, but it does not have such information, making us question the claim’s validity.
We also noticed that the dress and model used were AI-generated. Anyone could have designed it to misinform the public.
DUBAWA also conducted a keyword search to see if we would find further news about it from reputable news agencies, but we found none, which was another red flag.
We also checked the official handle of NYSC on X and other social media handles to see if they had reported any story about the uniform but could not find anything.
However, DUBAWA further contacted the NYSC’s media relations office regarding the claim. The office assured us that they would investigate. Soon afterwards, the NSYC released a statement to debunk the rumour.
The statement noted that all the items Corps Members collect on arrival during registration at the Orientation Camps remain the same. They employed the public “to disregard the misleading and highly embarrassing TikTok video in its entirety, as efforts are ongoing on the distribution of uniforms and other essential variables to all the 37 NYSC Orientation Camps across the country in preparation for the forthcoming 2024 Batch ‘B’ Stream One Orientation Course.”
“Social Media Influencers are strongly warned to desist forthwith from using NYSC Corporate brand in any online medium that may attract negative publicity to the Scheme, while defaulters would be prosecuted according to legal provisions,” the statement reads.
Conclusion
The claim that the NYSC is changing its uniform is false. The statement provided by the media relations officer shows that the scheme is not planning to change its uniform.
