Excitement as FG Begins Payment of N44,000 Arrears to Ex-Corps Members, Months After NYSC Allowance Hike

The Federal Government has officially started crediting former members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with the sum of N44,000 as arrears resulting from the revised minimum wage implementation.

This development follows the approval of a new NYSC monthly allowance, which was increased from N33,000 to N77,000 in September 2024. The adjustment was based on the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024, which raised the national wage floor from N30,000 to N70,000.

Although the approval was granted in September 2024, the actual disbursement of the new allowance did not begin until March 2025 due to what officials described as budgetary and administrative delays. At the time, Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said the delay was caused by “the necessary budgetary allocations [not being] in place at the time of the approval.”

As a result, corps members who served between July 2024 and February 2025 were not immediately paid the updated amount, leaving arrears of N44,000 per person. The Federal Government pledged to settle these outstanding payments, and this week, ex-corps members began confirming receipt of the funds.

According to multiple reports shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the overdue payments are now being deposited into the bank accounts of eligible former corps members. One user wrote, “The arrears have started hitting beneficiaries’ accounts nationwide.”

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Background & Additional Developments

In the 2025 budget, the Federal Government allocated N29.54 billion to the NYSC for kits, transportation, feeding, and other operational needs. This budget also includes provisions for sporting activities, camp facility upgrades, publicity, and honorarium.

In addition to financial disbursements, the government has announced plans to introduce specialized service arms under the NYSC scheme, focusing on deploying corps members to rural communities to support healthcare and education sectors.

A reform committee has also been set up to assess and revamp the NYSC program. The committee’s responsibilities include stakeholder engagement, policy review, and crafting recommendations to modernize the national service scheme.