The Director of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC has announced that corps members would begin to receive a monthly allowance of N77,000 from March 2025. The DG, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu had shared this while speaking to the corps members at the NYSC zonal offices in Wuse and Garki.
The former NYSC Director General, Brigadier General Yusha’u Ahmed had made a similar promise to corps members during the NYSC orientation camp in Kebbi. Then, he acknowledged their contributions to the economic development of the country and encouraged them to embrace entrepreneurship for self reliance. The news had been met with mixed reactions. While many were overjoyed and anticipated at the proposed increment.
Half a year after the initial announcement, the increment is yet to be effected on the allowance for NYSC members. Initially, some netizens had shared their views on the value of the money. A X user noted “It’s time to address the root cause of inflation, not just increase allowances”. He further asked, “Would N77,000 be enough for a corps member or should the government focus on increasing the value of the naira?”.
Again, a corps member, Ushie Rita Uguamaye, better known as Raye made headlines recently for her criticism of the government, for the hardship she experiences while serving the country. In her video, she referred to Bola Ahmed Tinibu as a terrible president because of the hike in the price of goods in the country. According to her, a “crate of egg that I used to buy N800 id now N6,600. I don’t know if there has been any other president that is terrible but you are such a terrible president”.
Her outburst had elicited reactions from the public, and the NYSC, who sanctioned her to the local government (LG) secretariat on Monday. While many considered her outcry to be illegal, she also gained support for her courage in speaking about the economic situation. This is because an increment in the corps members allowance has been highly anticipated, and could help them have a relatively better standard of living. Also, another corps member had shared that “I was expected to be at my PPA at least 3 times in a week. NYSC pays 33k monthly, I spent 32k monthly on transport. If you don’t have money, don’t serve”.
The new announcement by the DG, although seemingly good news, has been met with mixed reactions from netizens. Finewine on X said, “Let’s hope this is not another audio money announcement. NYSC members have seen enough promises”. Another, Walexy stated that, “If NYSC starts paying 77k, all the corps members that insulted the Raye babe should bury their heads in shame. And to others, U can drop the 7k on top for her”.
This development, when effected will be met with be reliving for corps members in Nigeria. Recall that in September 2024, the Federal Government of Nigeria had approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants. As a result, corps members also anticipated an increase from their current N33,000 allowance, which has not taken effect till now.
