By Christian Asema
Members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have expressed their frustration over the Federal Government failure to implement the approved increase in their monthly allowance from N33,000 to N77,000.
The Federal Government had announced the pay raise in July 2024, but the Director-General of the NYSC, Brig. Gen. Yushau Ahmed, later attributed the delay in implementation to the non-release of funds. He assured corps members that the new allowance would take effect from February 2025.
However, investigations by Sunday Hobnob News revealed that the NYSC has yet to commence the payment, as corps members received only N33,000 for their February allowance on Friday.
A corps member serving in Abia State, who spoke anonymously, accused the government of insincerity regarding the increased allowance.
The N33,000 is not enough for us. Our Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) does not provide accommodation, and we have to handle that ourselves. Feeding and transportation costs are high. Some PPAs pay as little as N4,000, making it nearly impossible to survive on N37,000 a month. The government keeps promising and failing us.
Another corps member serving in Osun State lamented the rising cost of living and the struggle to survive on the current allowance.
The Federal Government should do something. After calculating my expenses, I realize I spend over N70,000 monthly. Transport alone takes N12,000, and I still have other bills. I had to call my mother for financial support.
Similarly, a corps member in Lagos expressed disappointment, saying:
I don’t t know how they expect us to survive on N33,000 with this hardship. They keep promising N77,000, yet nothing has changed.
When contacted, the NYSC Director of Communication, Carol Embu, neither answered calls nor responded to text messages. However, a senior NYSC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the new allowance had not yet been implemented.
We are yet to start payment for the new allowance,the official said.
The delay has sparked widespread discontent among corps members, many of whom are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living and are demanding immediate action from the government.
