According to Ajayi, much of the public debate has ignored the fact that government institutions detected the alleged fraud and acted on it.

He said officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, working with officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first discovered inconsistencies in Adeyemi’s operations and reported the matter to the appropriate authorities.

“Contrary to the anything-goes narrative being promoted, it was the system itself that raised the red flag and dealt with it administratively,” Ajayi said.

He, however, acknowledged that the suspect could not have operated for long without help from insiders.

“What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeyemi to get this far. That is precisely what investigators from the DSS, the Police and the EFCC must now unravel.

“The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.

The Presidency had earlier disowned the disowned the two organisations, insisting that they did not exist as government agencies.

It also maintained that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, neither authorised Adeyemi’s activities nor had any connection with them.

Ajayi accused Adeyemi of attempting to drag Gbajabiamila into the controversy as a diversionary tactic.

“In Nigeria, the easiest and most believable allegation anyone can throw at a public officer is corruption.

“Once that accusation is thrown into the mix, the water is polluted, the lines are blurred and everyone is kept busy arguing over distractions rather than the real issues,” he wrote.

He described Adeyemi as “an irredeemable con artist” who was using allegations against the Chief of Staff as “his last straw” to avoid criminal liability.

The Presidency insisted that the case should not be framed as evidence of complicity at the highest levels of government, but as an alleged fraud uncovered by the system itself.

He said that once the bill is passed into law, workers in the state would continue to enjoy the benefit beyond the tenure of the present administration.

The commissioner also disclosed that the Executive Council considered the shortage of teachers in public secondary schools, particularly in science subjects, and expressed concern over its impact on the quality of education.

He said the council directed the Ministry of Secondary Education to immediately prepare a memo indicating the number of teachers required for recruitment, adding that the council had, in principle, approved the employment of additional teachers to address the manpower gap in the state’s secondary schools.

Aniagwu further revealed that the council approved the procurement and installation of equipment for the Technical College in Oghareki, Ethiope West Local Government Area, while also approving plans to equip the Technical College in Irri upon completion.

He said the approvals underscored the Oborevwori administration’s commitment to revitalising technical education and equipping young people with practical skills needed for employment and entrepreneurship.

The commissioner added that the Executive Council also considered and approved several matters relating to the health and transport sectors, including new transport routes across the state.

The Commissioner also added that Exco also approved the appointment of HRM Goodnews Goodman Agbi, PhD, Athuaro I as the Ovie of Oyede Kingdom in Isoko North Local Government Area.

Aniagwu said the decisions taken at the meeting reflected the administration’s continued commitment to improving workers’ welfare, expanding access to quality education, strengthening healthcare delivery and enhancing public services across Delta State.

He noted that young people constitute nearly 70 per cent of the country’s population, calling them “the engine” rather than a burden to be managed, Punch reported.

1. Under the new framework, the orientation programme will be extended to six weeks and restructured to cover civic responsibility, leadership, career readiness, entrepreneurship, digital and financial literacy, and specialised training tied to each corps member’s academic background.

2. Training sectors will include agriculture, health, technology, education, law, public service, infrastructure, the green economy, the creative economy, enterprise, and para-military and security services.

3. Deployment will shift to a technology-driven call-up system, with primary postings aligned more closely to individual skills and career streams. For states facing security challenges, Tinubu said deployment would prioritise indigenes, residents, graduates of institutions in those states, and corps members from neighbouring states within the same geopolitical zone.

4. On governance, the NYSC will be led by a civilian Director-General supported by three Executive Directors, one of whom, the Security Services Executive Director, will be drawn from the military or paramilitary ranks. Orientation camps will be assessed under a national grading and certification framework, and states will be required to meet minimum operational standards.

5. Passing-Out Parade would be renamed a Graduation Ceremony, reflecting the administration’s intention for corps members to exit the scheme as trained contributors rather than simply completing a mandatory obligation.

“Every corps member must leave NYSC better prepared for work, enterprise and national service,” he stated.

The President commended the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination Hadiza Bala Usman, the Federal Ministry of Education, and members of the reform committee for their work on the initiative.

He subsequently directed the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the Federal Ministry of Justice to initiate amendments to the NYSC Act and its subsidiary regulations, giving the reforms a formal legal foundation.

“To every young Nigerian: this nation believes in you. We are building a country worthy of your talent, your ambition and your future,” Tinubu added.