Despite the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) promising to increase the monthly allowance for corps members to N77,000 starting in February 2025, the Tinubu-led Nigerian government is still issuing the previous stipend of N33,000, according to SaharaReporters.Multiple corps members reported receiving their February allowance on Friday night, only to find it unchanged at N33,000—less than half of the newly proposed amount.
This situation contradicts the assurances made in January by NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, who publicly stated that the allowance increase was finalized and merely awaiting the passage of the 2025 budget. “The Federal Government has already approved the increment of your allowance.
It is no longer news; we have the approval in our hands. What we are waiting for is just the passage of the budget,” Ahmed had declared to corps members in Katsina State, promising that the new allowance would begin in February.However, February has passed, and the commitment remains unfulfilled.
The Tinubu administration has not provided any official explanation for the failure to implement the increase, leaving corps members feeling abandoned and frustrated amid a deepening economic crisis.With Nigeria’s inflation rate rising and the cost of living becoming increasingly burdensome, the N33,000 allowance is insufficient for corps members to meet even their basic necessities. Many are struggling to pay for food, transportation, and accommodation as prices of essential goods soar due to ineffective economic policies and the naira’s depreciation under the Tinubu government.
A corps member serving in Oyo expressed his frustration, saying, “How do they expect us to survive on ₦33,000 when everything is expensive? They promised us ₦77,000 this month, and once again, they have failed us.
This government keeps making promises but never follows through.”Another corps member in Kano echoed similar sentiments, lamenting that the delay in increasing the allowance reflects the government’s insensitivity to the challenges faced by young Nigerians. “We are serving our country, yet we cannot even afford decent meals.
The government knows that ₦33,000 is inadequate, but they don’t care.
They continue to make empty promises while we suffer,” she said.
The failure to implement the promised allowance increase has further diminished trust in the Tinubu administration, which faces growing criticism for its economic policies that have aggravated inflation, unemployment, and poverty across the nation.
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