Sowore Pledges To Scrap JAMB, NYSC As President

Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), 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.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Sowore said universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions should be responsible for conducting their own admissions through a transparent, merit-based process rather than relying on JAMB.

“When I become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, JAMB will be abolished,” he wrote.

Sowore also proposed scrapping the NYSC in its current form and replacing it with what he described as a two-year voluntary National Job Corps.

“The National Youth Service Corps, in its current form, will be scrapped,” he said.

“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.”

According to Sowore, Nigeria’s young people require greater access to employment opportunities and skills development rather than compulsory national service.

JAMB was established in 1978 to coordinate admissions into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions through a unified entrance examination, while the NYSC was created in 1973 to promote national unity and integration among graduates after the Nigerian Civil War.

Sowore has consistently advocated sweeping political and institutional reforms.

When I become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria:@JAMBHQ 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.

The National Youth… pic.twitter.com/67eVK4zQHl

— Omoyele Sowore (@sowore) July 1, 2026