The Federal government has finally started paying the new N77,000 monthly allowance to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, putting an end to months of delays that had sparked frustration and protests
On Wednesday afternoon, several corps members confirmed receiving credit alerts reflecting the increased stipend. The long-awaited disbursement follows recent assurances from Minister of Youth Development Ayodele Olawande, who had promised in a Channels TV interview that the backlog would be cleared by the end of March.
The delay in implementing the approved allowance had been attributed to budgetary constraints and bureaucratic bottlenecks. During his Monday interview, Olawande attempted to clarify the situation.
“I have explained this several times. Some people say I always mention it’s a process, and it is seriously a process. It was not in the budget when the president announced it. Some agencies and parastatals need to have their salaries included in the budget before anything can be done or paid out,” he said.
He emphasized that while President Bola Tinubu had approved the allowance months ago, payments could not begin until the necessary budgetary allocations were in place.
“Anybody can approve anything, but you must have a budgetary allocation for it. Now, they are done with the process. It has been approved and signed. Now, they can start taking it,” Olawande added.
His remarks had been met with skepticism from corps members, many of whom had waited months for the government to fulfill its promise. A key concern was whether outgoing corps members—who had served under the old stipend—would receive back payments to match the new allowance.
Addressing this, Olawande reiterated the government’s commitment to settling the backlog.
“You saw the new DG when they asked him, what about those who are going out now? Are they going to receive their backlogs? He said, ‘We have your account details; we will put it (the allowance) through.’ You may not like to hear this, but I can tell you the payment will happen at the end of this month.”
While the payment is a welcome relief for corps members, concerns remain over whether the amount is sufficient given Nigeria’s rising cost of living. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average cost of a bus trip in Nigerian cities was N923.8 as of December 2024. At this rate, a corps member’s entire monthly allowance would cover only about 83 bus trips, highlighting the economic challenges they still face.
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