Jubilation as corps members receive N33,000 allowance

There was jubilation among serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over the payment of N33,000 increased allowance by the federal government, nearly a year after the new minimum wage law was signed.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in April 2019, signed the national minimum wage bill into law — a move that gives workers a conditional right to take legal action if they’re paid less than N30,000.

On Wednesday, Shuaibu Ibrahim, NYSC’s director-general, had announced an increase in corps members’ monthly stipends — from N19,800 to N33,000.

The long re-iterated promise, however, materialized after corps members in some parts of the country confirmed the payment of their January allowance, with bank alerts reflecting the increase.

Calls placed to serving corps members by TheCable Lifestyle showed that January stipends had, indeed, reflected the new sum, as many took to Twitter to share screenshots of their bank alerts.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this promise is also kept, the NYSC allowance is officially N33,000.00. Members have started seeing their 33k alert for the month of January 2020,” Bashir Ahmad, an aide to Buhari on social media, wrote.

As of when this report was filed, the hashtag ‘NYSC’ had topped trends on Twitter, with many Nigerians singing the praises of the federal government and the president alike.

“Dear federal govt, youths are happy, most especially corps members. You can see them jubilating about the increment of their allowance. This is how we will be if you provide employment and basic amenities,” a corps member said.

“Dear NYSC members, now that the FG has increased allowance to 33k, don’t increase your expenses. Continue to work with the N19,800 budget. You’ve been coping with it,” another registered.

Federal civil servants and some states have also started implementing the new minimum wage, adjusting salaries accordingly to reflect the new scale.

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