THE Federal Government has approved a new monthly allowance for members of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), from the current N33,000 to N77,000.
A statement by the NYSC”s acting director, Information and Public Relations, (ADIPR), Caroline Embu, on Wednesday 25, noted that the approval was in line with the new minimum wage.
“The federal government has approved the increase of corps members’ monthly allowance to seventy-seven thousand naira (N77,000) with effect from July 2024.
“This is in line with the enactment of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024.
“This was contained in a letter from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, dated 25th September 2024 and signed by the Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta,” the statement read.
This latest development came over six weeks after the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) clarified that it had yet to receive approval from the Federal Government to begin paying the N70,000 minimum wage to corps members.
The NYSC refuted claims circulating on social media that corps members’ bank accounts were being upgraded in preparation for the payment of the new minimum wage.
The NYSC also warned bloggers and social media influencers to cease making unauthorized statements about its management, urging them to refrain from issuing unverified information.
However, in its latest statement, the Service said the approval to pay N77,000 to corps members, followed its advocacy visit to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.
“The NYSC boss is thankful to the Federal Government for the timely gesture and is optimistic that it will not only bring much-needed succour to the corps members but also boost their morale and motivate them to do even more, in their service to the nation,” the statement added.
The ICIR reported that President Bola Tinubu signed the National Minimum Wage Act 2019 Amendment Bill into law, which will ensure that workers in Nigeria earn N70,000 as the minimum wage.
The President assented to the bill, on Monday, July 29, at the State House in Abuja barely a week after the National Assembly passed the bill.
The bill sought to increase the national minimum wage and reduce the period for periodic review from five years to three years.
The upward review by the government came after a series of negotiations between the government’s representatives and organised labour.
The ICIR reports that corps members’ allowance is usually determined by the country’s minimum wage.
For instance, the corps members had their allowances increased from N19,800 to N33,000 in 2020, months after a new minimum wage of N30,000 took effect.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M