After months of delay, the Federal Government has assured National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members that the backlog of their new ₦77,000 monthly allowance will be paid.
The government had announced an increase in corps members’ allowance from ₦33,000 to ₦77,000 in September 2024, aligning it with the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024. However, the implementation has faced continuous setbacks, despite repeated assurances.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, reaffirmed that both serving corps members and those in service when the increment was announced would receive the arrears.
“The backlog, we will work on it and make sure it is paid. It may not be immediate, but it will happen,” Olawande stated.
The NYSC Director General, Olakunle Nafiu, had earlier hinted that the delayed payments would commence in March. Olawande confirmed this, attributing the delay to budgetary constraints.
He explained that the new allowance was not initially captured in the budget when President Bola Tinubu announced it. However, he assured corps members that all necessary approvals have now been secured, paving the way for payments to begin.
“The budgetary allocation has been done. We are done with the process, it has been approved, signed, and now they can start paying it,” he said.
With this assurance, corps members across the country are hopeful that the long-awaited increment will finally take effect.
