The federal government has continued to pay members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) the old N33,000 stipend, despite promises to increase corps members’ monthly allowance to N77,000 starting February 2025.
Several corps members confirmed receiving their February allowance on Friday night, only to find out that it remained unchanged at N33,000 — less than half of the new amount that was supposedly approved.
The development contradicts the assurances given in January by the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, who had publicly stated that the allowance increment was a done deal, only awaiting the passage of the 2025 budget.
Ahmed had told corps members in Katsina State, vowing that by February, they would start receiving N77,000, “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.”
However, February has come and gone, and the promise remains unfulfilled.
The federal government has not provided any official explanation for the failure to implement the increase, leaving corps members stranded and frustrated in the face of a worsening economic crisis.
With Nigeria’s inflation rate soaring and the cost of living becoming unbearable, it is obvious that the N33,000 allowance is no longer enough for corps members to meet even their basic needs.
Many struggle to afford food, transportation, and accommodation, as prices of essential commodities skyrocket due to bad economic policies and naira depreciation under Tinubu’s administration.
A corps member serving in Oyo expressed his disappointment, saying, ”How do they expect us to survive on ₦33,000 when everything has become so 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.”
Another corps member in Kano lamented that the delay in the allowance increment is yet another example of the government’s insensitivity to the struggles of young Nigerians.
“We are serving our country, yet we cannot even afford decent meals. The government knows that ₦33,000 is not enough, but they don’t care. They keep making empty promises while we suffer,” she said.
The failure to implement the promised allowance increase has further eroded trust in the Tinubu administration, which has been widely criticised for its economic policies that have worsened inflation, unemployment, and poverty across the country.
