The Nigerian government has officially begun disbursing the new monthly allowance of N77,000 for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
On Wednesday afternoon, several corps members reported receiving credit alerts indicating the increased stipend, effectively ending a prolonged delay that had led to frustration and protests among them.
This development follows assurances made by Minister of Youth Development Ayodele Olawande during a Channels TV interview, in which he promised that the backlog of payments would be resolved by the end of March.
For months, the government had been slow to implement the approved allowance increase, citing budget constraints and bureaucratic hurdles as reasons for the delay.In his interview on Monday, Olawande explained the situation, stating, “I have clarified this multiple times. Some say I always refer to it as a process, and it truly is.
The allowance was not included in the budget at the time the president announced it. Certain agencies and parastatals needed to have their salaries reflected in the budget before any payments could be issued.”He noted that although President Bola Tinubu had approved the allowance months ago, actual disbursement required budgetary measures that were not in place at that time. “Anyone can approve something, but you need a budgetary allocation to back it up.
The process has now been completed, it has been approved and signed, and payments can commence,” Olawande added. His statements had given rise to skepticism among corps members, many of whom had endured numerous unfulfilled government promises.
A significant concern for many had been the situation of outgoing corps members—those who had served under the previous stipend but were expected to transition to the new allowance.
In response, Olawande reaffirmed the government’s dedication to addressing the backlog.
When the new DG was asked about those who are leaving now, he confirmed, ‘We have your account details; the allowance will be processed for you.’ You might not want to hear this, but I assure you that the payments will be made by the end of this month,” he concluded.
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