LunagisthubGood News for NYSC Members: N77,000 Allowance Finally Paid
After months of delay, the Nigerian government has finally started paying the new N77,000 monthly allowance to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members. This development comes as a huge relief to corps members who have been waiting patiently for the increased stipend
The payment was confirmed by several corps members who received credit alerts on Wednesday afternoon. This move is a fulfillment of President Bola Tinubu’s promise to increase the allowance, which was announced months ago
However, the delay in implementation was due to budgetary constraints and bureaucratic bottlenecks. Minister of Youth Development Ayodele Olawande explained that the allowance was not included in the budget when it was announced, and that some agencies and parastatals needed to have their salaries included in the budget before anything could be done or paid out
Despite the delay, Olawande assured Nigerians that the backlog would be cleared by the end of March. He also reiterated the government’s commitment to paying the backlog to outgoing corps members who had served under the previous stipend ¹.
While the payment is a welcome development, there are concerns about whether the amount is truly adequate, given the current cost of living crisis in Nigeria. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average cost of a bus trip in Nigerian cities stood at N923.8 as of December 2024, which means a corps member could afford only about 83 bus trips in a month using their entire allowance .
Overall, the payment of the new allowance is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to address the challenges faced by NYSC members in Nigeria.
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