After months of uncertainty, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) may finally receive the long-awaited increase in their monthly allowance, as the Federal Government has pledged to pay the backlog of the new ₦77,000 stipend.
The assurance came on Monday from the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He reiterated that serving corps members, as well as those in service when the increment was announced in September 2024, would receive backdated payments.
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“The backlog, we will work on it and make sure it is paid. It may not be immediate, but it will happen,” Olawande stated.
In September 2024, the Federal Government announced an increase in the NYSC allowance from ₦33,000 to ₦77,000, aligning it with the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024. The news was met with widespread excitement among corps members, but six months later, the new rate is yet to be implemented, despite repeated government assurances.
Last week, NYSC Director General Olakunle Nafiu urged corps members to expect the implementation of the new allowance in March. Olawande reinforced this timeline, insisting that the government waa committed to fulfilling its promise.
The delay, the minister explained, stemmed from budgetary constraints. “It’s a government process. You cannot bypass the system. When the President announced it, it was not in the budget. Before salaries can be paid, there must be a budgetary allocation. But that has now been done, approved, and signed. Now, payments can begin,” he assured.