The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has berated the federal government over the non-payment of approved N77, 000 monthly allowance to serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
NANS lamented that NYSC is yet to implement the payment of the new allowance to corps members, months after approval by the federal government.
It would be recalled that the Tinubu administration had approved an increase in the monthly allowance payable to corps members from N33, 000 to N77, 000 effective July 2024.
The approval for the increase of the allowance from N33,000 to N77,000 was contained in a letter from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, dated September 25, 2024, and signed by the Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, in line with the enactment of the National Minimum Wage (amendment) Act, 2024.
Also, Director-General of the NYSC, Brig. Gen. Yushau Ahmed, on January 30, 2025, announced that corps members would begin to receive ₦77, 000 as their monthly allowance from February 2025.
However, corps members have expressed disappointment that they still received the old allowance of N33, 000 in February, describing the amount, as insufficient for their basic needs in the face of the high cost of living in the country.
Reacting, NANS in a statement by its National Vice President, Inter-Campus Affairs, Akinbodunse Felicia, on Monday, justified the call for the probe of the NYSC for failure to commence payment of the new monthly allowance by the end of February as promised by the director-general.
She wondered what delayed the payment, after the official announcement by Brig. Gen. Yushua that corps members would start receiving the N77, 000 in February 2025.
“Findings by my office revealed that corps members received only N33, 000 for their February allowance last Friday, against the N70, 000 promised by the NYSC director general.
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“This is even as we note that the federal, and many state governments have since begun to pay their workers the new minimum wage of N70, 000.
“The NYSC has no justification to withhold the payment of the new approved allowance to corps members whatsoever.
“It would amount to gross injustice on the part of corps members to still be receiving the old allowance months after approval, and implementation by the federal government,” NANS said.
While calling on the NYSC to give reasons for the failure to implement the payment of the N77, 000 allowance, she insisted that the federal government should investigate the matter to determine the cause of the delay.
She added that the failure to pay the new allowance to corps members could dampen their morale, especially in the face of the economic situation in the country.
The NANS national vice president added that the leadership of the student body would interface with the NYSC, to find out why corps members are yet to benefit from the new minimum wage of N77, 000, even when staff of the NYSC are receiving the increase in pay from the federal government.
