The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) may allocate up to N307.6 billion for the mobilisation and payment of allowances to corps members.
This projection is based on the recent increase in corps members’ monthly allowances from N33,000 to N77,000, as announced by the NYSC in September 2024. The raise followed the signing of the new minimum wage bill into law in May 2024.
Mobilisation and Budget Allocation
On average, the NYSC mobilises between 1,200 and 1,500 corps members per orientation camp across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The programme operates in three batches annually—A, B, and C.
This results in an estimated 55,500 corps members per batch, bringing the total number of mobilised corps members to approximately 333,000 per year.
With each corps member now entitled to N77,000 monthly, the total payment per batch amounts to N25.64 billion. Over a year, this accumulates to a projected N307.6 billion in corps members’ allowances.
In the 2025 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly in December 2024, President Bola Tinubu allocated N430.7 billion to the NYSC—the highest in the past five years. Of this amount, N372.9 billion (about 86.5% of the total allocation) was earmarked for the payment of corps members’ allowances.
Delay in Implementation
Despite the announcement of the new N77,000 allowance in September 2024, the Federal Government has yet to implement the payment five months later. After failing to commence payments in February, the NYSC Acting Director of Press and Public Relations, Caroline Embu, clarified that the scheme was still awaiting cash backing.
*”The cash backing is still being awaited”,* Embu stated in response to inquiries.
Additionally, in a WhatsApp message seen on Wednesday, the newly appointed NYSC Director-General, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, reportedly assured that payments would commence in March 2025.
Efforts to reach the NYSC spokesperson for further comments were unsuccessful, as calls and messages remained unanswered.
