The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has urged the Federal Government to investigate the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over the non-payment of the newly approved N77,000 monthly allowance for corps members.
NANS expressed frustration that despite the Federal Government’s approval of the increase from N33,000 to N77,000—effective July 2024—the NYSC has yet to implement it.
NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, attributed the delay to the non-release of funds.
In a statement on Sunday, NANS National Vice President for Inter-Campus Affairs, Felicia Akinbodunse, justified calls for a probe, citing the NYSC’s failure to commence payments by the end of February as promised. She questioned the delay, given that Ahmed had announced corps members would start receiving N77,000 in February 2025.
According to her findings, corps members received only N33,000 for their February allowance last Friday instead of the N70,000 promised by the NYSC DG. Akinbodunse noted that both the Federal Government and several state governments have already implemented the new N70,000 minimum wage for workers, making NYSC’s delay unjustifiable.
She argued that withholding the approved allowance months after its approval and implementation amounts to gross injustice.
NANS called on the NYSC to explain the payment delay and urged the Federal Government to investigate the matter. Akinbodunse warned that failure to pay the new allowance could demoralise corps members, especially given the country’s economic challenges.
She added that NANS leadership would engage with the NYSC to determine why corps members have yet to benefit from the new minimum wage, even as NYSC staff have started receiving the increased pay.
