Over 200 Ghanaian graduates in the diaspora applied for national service this year and are currently in Ghana to serve the country, Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat (NSS), Mustapha Ussif has disclosed.

According to him, this was made possible through the introduction of the International Graduate National Service Programme initiated by the NSS which allowed Ghanaian graduates abroad to apply for their mandatory service online.

Mustapha Ussif made these known in an interview with Ghanaweb’s editor, Kwabena Kyenkyenhene Boateng on ’21 Minutes with KKB’.

He said the programme was to make it possible for every Ghanaian graduate to serve their home nation wherever they find themselves in the world.

“This service year, we introduced the International Graduate National Service Programme where whether you’re born in Ghana or in abroad, once you’re born to Ghanaian parents, you’re and Ghanaian so you’ll be able to do National Service,” he said.

The NSS boss further explained that the introduction of the programme is also a strategy to help Ghana utilise the expertise acquired by Ghanaian students in the diaspora.

“Some have expertise that we don’t have. Especially like the railway sector. It’s a new sector that we’re opening up. If you go to London for instance, we have a lot of Ghanaians working in the railway sector. They’ve graduated from universities with ‘Railway Engineering’ and if they want to come and support, national service could be a route where we deploy them to either Railway Development Authority or Railway Company or Ministry of Railway so that they support us in achieving His Excellency’s vision of revamping the railway sector,” Mr. Ussif stressed.