Five months after the federal government promised to increase the monthly stipends of national youth corps members to N77,000, it has yet to fulfil the commitment.
Despite the pledge, corps members continue to receive N33,000 monthly.
In September 2024, the government approved N77,000 as the new monthly allowance for corps members.
Addressing the 2024 Batch ‘C’ Stream II corps members in Katsina State recently, the director-general of NYSC, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, again reiterated that the increment had been approved by the federal government and was included in the 2025 budget.
He further stated that the increase would take effect once the budget was passed.
“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.
“This month (January) has already ended, but once the budget is passed, by next month (February), you will start receiving N77,000 instead of the usual N33,000,” he said.
However, despite President Bola Tinubu passing the budget, corps members who received their February allowance reported that they were still paid N33,000.
Many corps members confirmed receiving their February allowance on Friday night, only to find it unchanged.
One serving corps member, Ivy, who shared her disappointment, said “It’s very true, sir, I received 33k last night, and I couldn’t sleep. I had high hopes for the 77k because I’m not feeling well, and I was hoping to get the money to start treatment.”
Another corps member serving in Oyo State said: “How do they expect us to survive on ₦33,000 when everything is now expensive? They told us we would get ₦77,000 this month, and now they have failed again. This government keeps making promises but never delivers.”
An ex-corps member, Oluwa Seun, urged the government to pay arrears to those still in service when the promised increase was made. “Since last year July 2024, till I passed out on January 23, 2025, it was ₦33,000. If the stipend is later increased, let them pay the arrears,” he said.
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