The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed has assured corps members that their monthly allowances will be increased once the new minimum wage is implemented by the federal government.
Ahmed made this statement on Tuesday while addressing the 2024 Batch ‘B’ stream two corps members at the Kebbi State orientation camp in Dakingari and the Sokoto State orientation camp in Wamakko. He said that the NYSC was committed to ensuring corps members receive improved stipends in line with the approved wage increase for civil servants.
“Corps Members have been assured that as soon as civil servants start receiving the new minimum wage that the federal government approved, their monthly allowance would also increase,” Ahmed stated, according to a statement released by the acting NYSC Director, Information and Public Relations, Caroline Embu.
The NYSC currently provides a monthly allowance of N33,000 to corps members, but this figure is expected to rise after the new minimum wage, set at N70,000, is fully implemented. The minimum wage bill was passed by the National Assembly on July 23 and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on July 29, 2024.
While addressing corps members, Brig. Gen. Ahmed also emphasized the importance of skill acquisition during the service year, encouraging them to take part in the NYSC’s Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) program.
“At least learn a skill while in camp, and after the orientation course, you continue with the post-camp training. Try to acquire a skill that would enable you to create jobs and employ others instead of searching for jobs,” he urged.
He also assured corps members that NYSC, in collaboration with organizations such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, Bank of Industry, Unity Bank, and NNPC Foundation, offers financial support in the form of loans and grants to aid their entrepreneurial pursuits.
During his visit, the NYSC Director General assured that they were concerned by the safety of corps members throughout their service year, stating that no member would be posted to locations where their security could not be guaranteed.
In Kebbi, the State Coordinator, Mrs. Aghata Banki Okolo, presented a report to the Director General, stating that 1,195 corps members had been registered, including 118 members who were dislodged from Zamfara State. Meanwhile, Sokoto State Coordinator, Alhaji Yakubu Yaro Usman, reported that 1,488 corps members were registered in Sokoto, with 200 corps members displaced from Zamfara.
The minimum wage adjustment is expected to positively impact thousands of corps members nationwide once it takes effect.
