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N70,000 wage: NYSC awaits FG’s directive on new corpers’ pay

Sixteen members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Anambra are to repeat their service year while three others will serve various terms of disciplinary measures.  The Anambra NYSC Coordinator, Mr Ebenezer Olawale, who made the disclosure on Thursday in Awka, said no formal passing out ceremony was held in the state.  Olawale added that certificates were issued at the various local government NYSC offices.  The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 2, 158 corps members successfully concluded their service year and were issued with discharge certificates.  NAN also reports that seven deserving corps members won the Governor’s Award, while four went home with the Chairman’s Award as the youth members passed out on Thursday.  The coordinator congratulated the outgoing corps members but regretted that 19 of them were to face disciplinary measures, with 16 repeating their service, while three would serve extension of between two and four months.  On the upcoming Nov. 18 governorship polls in Anambra, the NYSC coordinator said that the body still had enough manpower to take care of its expected role in the election.  “There are no fewer than 8,000 corps members currently serving in the state,’’ he said.  Olawale noted that his office would work with the NYSC offices in neighboring states to Anambra to take care of any shortfall in the provision of personnel for the election.  He said the discharged corps members who wished to take part in the election were at liberty to stay back but no one was under compulsion to do so.  Meanwhile, the Director-General of the NYSC Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, will visit Anambra to address corps members ahead of the governorship election.  Olawale told NAN that Kazuaure would hold a one-day interface with the corps members on Nov. 7 alongside heads of other security agencies in Anambra at the Alex Ekweme Square in Awka.  According to him, the director-general’s visit was largely to speak to the corps members who would serve in ad-hoc capacity during the election on the need for them to be neutral. (NAN)

The Management of the National Youth Service Corps has insisted that the increase of corps members’ allowance, following the approval of a new minimum wage of N70,000 for workers, will be determined by the Federal Government.

The acting Director of the Information and Public Relations unit of the NYSC, Caroline Embu, made this known to our correspondent on Tuesday.

Recall that President Tinubu signed the new minimum wage bill of N70,000 into law on July 29, 2024, following weeks of negotiations with the leadership of the organised labour.

Following the approval of the minimum wage, speculations had risen about the new pay for corps members, with some claiming to have received a directive to increase the capacity of their bank accounts to be able to receive above N50,000.

The supposed message read: “Most of the corps members’ accounts opened in the camp cannot take more than N50,000 at once. All corps members are advised to visit their various banks and confirm that their account can take or receive more than N70,000.” 

However, the NYSC had released a statement stating that the purported message was “absolutely falsehood.”

“The attention of National Youth Service Corps management has been drawn to misleading information circulating in the media regarding payment of N70,000 minimum wage to corps members and the directive to upgrade their accounts. This is an absolute falsehood which is far from the truth.

“Corps members, parents and members of the public should note that no directive has been received from the relevant sector of government responsible for wages matters. It is, therefore, impossible for the NYSC to issue any information on such,” a statement, signed by the former Director Information and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, read.

However, asked on Tuesday if the scheme was currently negotiating a new pay for corps members, the acting spokesperson reiterated that the review of the allowance was in the hands of the Federal Government, and not the NYSC, noting that there was currently no change in corps members’ allowances.

“I don’t know how much the Federal Government will pay the corps members, I cannot tell you that for sure right now, because it is a decision of the Federal Government, not the NYSC. The only thing I can tell you now is that when the Federal Government increases the minimum wage, the corps members are expected to enjoy an increase in their allowance too, just like the DG said,” she said.

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