Despite earlier promises by the NYSC to increase corps members’ monthly allowance from N33,000 to N77,000 starting February 2025, Tinubu’s administration has continued to pay the old stipend.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has revealed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has yet to release funds for the recently approved N77,000 monthly allowance for corps members.
NYSC’s acting spokesperson, Mrs. Carol Lembu, revealed in a WhatsApp conversation with SaharaReporters on Monday morning that the scheme was still awaiting the necessary cash backing from the federal government.
“We are still awaiting the cash backing,” Lembu said, confirming that the long-awaited increase has not yet been implemented despite assurances from government officials.
Despite earlier promises by the NYSC to increase corps members’ monthly allowance from N33,000 to N77,000 starting February 2025, Tinubu’s administration has continued to pay the old stipend.
Multiple corps members confirmed receiving their February allowance last Friday night, only to be disappointed when they discovered that the amount remained unchanged at N33,000—less than half of what was supposedly approved.
This development contradicted the assurances given in January by the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, who had publicly declared that the allowance increment was a done deal, pending only the passage of the 2025 budget.
“The Federal Government has already approved the increment of your allowance. It is no longer news; we have the approval in our hands. What we are waiting for is just the passage of the budget,” Ahmed had told corps members in Katsina State, promising that by February, the increased payment would take effect.
With inflation soaring and the cost of living becoming unbearable, the N33,000 allowance is no longer sufficient for corps members to meet their basic needs.
Many struggle to afford food, transportation, and accommodation as prices of essential commodities continue to rise due to bad economic policies and the depreciation of the naira under Tinubu’s administration.
A corps member serving in Oyo expressed his disappointment, saying, “How do they expect us to survive on N33,000 when everything is expensive? They told us we would get N77,000 this month, and now they have failed again. This government keeps making promises but never delivers.”
Another corps member in Kano lamented that the delay in the allowance increment is yet another example of the government’s insensitivity to the struggles of young Nigerians.
“We are serving our country, yet we cannot even afford decent meals. The government knows that N33,000 is not enough, but they don’t care. They keep making empty promises while we suffer,” she said.