The National Youth Service Corps has estimated that it may incur expenses of up to N307.6 billion for the mobilization and payment of allowances to corps members, according to areports.
This estimated amount is based on the recent increase in corps members’ allowances from N33,000 to N77,000, as announced by the NYSC in a statement released in September 2024.
The increase in allowances follows the signing of the new minimum wage bill into law in May 2024. According to reports, the NYSC mobilizes between 1,200 and 1,500 corps members for the orientation exercise across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
This mobilization effort is done in three batches annually, designated as batches A, B, and C respectively.
As a result, an average of 55,500 corps members are mobilized per batch, summing up to a total of 333,000 corps members in a year. With each corps member now receiving an allowance of N77,000, the total payment for one batch amounts to N25.64 billion. Consequently, the total amount allocated for corps members’ allowances over the course of the year is N307.6 billion.
In the 2025 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly in December 2024 by Tinubu, the Federal Government had allocated N430.7 billion to the NYSC, representing the highest financial allocation to the NYSC in the past five years.
Out of the total amount, N372.9 billion, which is estimated at 86.5 percent of the total allocation, was set aside for the payment of corps members’ allowances.
However, despite the allocation, the Federal Government is yet to implement the payment of the new N77,000 allowance to corps members five months after the announcement was made on September 25, 2024.
Following the failure to implement the payments in February, Caroline Embu, the acting Director of Press and Public Relations, associated the delay to NYSC’s pending cash backing. “The cash backing is still being awaited,” Embu stated in a brief response.
In a WhatsApp message seen by NaijaEyes correspondent on Wednesday, the new Director-General of the Scheme, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, allegedly affirmed that payments would commence in March.
However, efforts to reach the NYSC spokesperson for further information on the issue were unsuccessful.
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