The Federal Government has assured that the outgoing National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members will receive the long-awaited backlog of the new N77,000 monthly allowance which is expected to be paid by the end of March.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, who appeared on Channels TV’s interview on Monday evening, blamed the delay in the payment process, reassuring the public that the backlog would be settled in due course.
“I have explained this several times,” Olawande began, addressing concerns over the delay. “Some people say I always mention it’s a process, and it is seriously a process. It was not in the budget when the President announced it. Some agencies and parastatals need to have their salaries included in the budget before anything can be done or paid out,” he explained.
On September 25, 2024, the federal government announced an increase in the monthly stipend for serving corps members from N33,000 to N77,000, effective from July 2024. However, the new adjustment has yet to be implemented despite repeated promises.
The minister further elaborated on the procedural hurdles that delayed the allowance payments. “Anybody can approve anything. You must have a budgetary allocation for it. So the budgetary allocation has been done now. They are done with the process. It has been approved and signed. Now, they can start taking it,” Olawande said.
In response to a specific question regarding outgoing corps members, who have been eagerly awaiting their new allowances, the minister said, “You saw the new DG when they asked him, what about those who are going out now? Are they going to receive their backlogs?” Olawande quoted the new NYSC Director-General’s assurances.
According to Olawande, “He said, ‘We have your account details. We will put it (the allowance) through.’ You may not like to hear this, but I can tell you, the payment will happen at the end of this month. The backlog will be worked on. It will not be immediate, but it will happen. We will pay them.”
He also highlighted his own role in the process, stressing the importance of collaboration with the new NYSC leadership. “Myself and the DG, we have had discussions on this. We have moved to the quarters we should move to. I’ve been working on this for a long time, and it’s going to work out.”