The Federal Government has announced that it will pay the backlog of the new ₦77,000 monthly allowance for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) after several months of delays.
The government had announced the allowance increase in September 2024, but despite multiple assurances, the increase has yet to be implemented.
Minister of Youth Development Ayodele Olawande confirmed the payment plan on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Olawande stated that the government would pay the ₦77,000 allowance, including backdated payments, to both serving corps members and those who were in the program when the increase was first announced.
“You saw the new DG saying that you will get it, and they’re asking him a question‘What about those that are going out now, are they going to receive it [backlog]?’ He said, ‘We have your details’,” the minister said.
“The backlog, we will work on it and make sure it is paid. It may not be immediate but it will happen.”
His statement followed comments from the Director General of the NYSC, Olakunle Nafiu, who had assured corps members last week that the new allowance would be implemented in March 2025.
In September 2024, the Federal Government had raised the monthly allowance for NYSC members from ₦33,000 to ₦77,000, noting the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024 as the basis for the increase.
The corps members were excited about the announcement, but months of waiting have made them increasingly irritated.
According to Olawande, the delay in the implementation of the new NYSC members’ allowance is due to budgetary issues.
He stated, “I’ve explained this several times. Some people said, I always say ‘It is a process. It is a process.’ But it’s seriously a process. It’s a government line. You cannot do a corner piece to do it. It was not in the budget when the president announced it, and for some agencies and parastatals, you need your salary to be in the budget before it is paid.
“Before anybody can approve anything, you must have a budgetary allocation for it. But the budgetary allocation has been done now. We are done with the process and it has been approved. It has been signed, and now they can start paying it.”