The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is projected to spend up to N307.6 billion on the mobilization and payment of allowances to corps members in 2025, according to Reports. This expenditure follows the increase in the corps members’ allowances from N33,000 to N77,000, as announced in September 2024 after the signing of the new minimum wage bill into law.
Each year, the NYSC mobilizes between 1,200 and 1,500 corps members across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in three annual batches—A, B, and C. This results in a total of 333,000 corps members mobilized annually. With the increased allowance, each batch’s total payout is now N25.64 billion, leading to an overall annual expense of N307.6 billion for allowances.
In the 2025 budget proposal presented by President Bola Tinubu in December 2024, the Federal Government allocated N430.7 billion to the NYSC, the largest budgetary allocation in five years. Of this amount, N372.9 billion (86.5%) is set aside for corps members’ allowances.
However, despite the announcement of the new N77,000 allowance in September 2024, the Federal Government has yet to implement the payment, five months later. Caroline Embu, the acting Director of Press and Public Relations for the NYSC, confirmed that the scheme is still waiting for the necessary cash backing.
Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, the newly appointed Director-General of the NYSC, reassured that payments would commence in March.
