Despite assurances from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) that corps members' monthly allowance would be increased to N77,000 starting in February 2025, the Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, has continued to pay the old N33,000 stipend, Eons learned.

Multiple corps members confirmed receiving their February allowance on Friday night, only to discover that it remained unchanged at N33,000  — less than half of the new amount that had been promised.

This development directly contradicts the commitments made in January by NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed. At the time, he publicly stated that the allowance increment was a settled matter, pending only the passage of the 2025 budget.

“The Federal Government has already approved the increment of your allowance. It is no longer news; we have the approval in our hands. What we are waiting for is just the passage of the budget,” Ahmed assured corps members during a visit to Katsina State. He vowed that by February 2025, corps members would start receiving N77,000.

However, February has passed, and the promise remains unfulfilled.

So far, the Tinubu-led government has not issued any official explanation for the failure to implement the long-awaited increase, leaving corps members frustrated and disillusioned.

As Nigeria battles rising inflation and an escalating cost of living crisis, the N33,000  monthly stipend is no longer sufficient to cover even basic expenses. Many corps members struggle to afford essentials like food, transportation, and accommodation as the prices of goods and services continue to soar, driven by the country’s economic downturn and the depreciation of the naira.

A corps member serving in Oyo State expressed his frustration over the situation.

“How do they expect us to survive on N33,000  when everything is so expensive? They told us we would get N77,000 this month, and now they’ve failed again. This government keeps making promises but never delivers,” he said.

Another corps member in Kano State described the delay in implementing the allowance increment as yet another example of the government’s indifference to the struggles of young Nigerians.

“We are serving our country, yet we cannot even afford decent meals. The government knows that N77,000is not enough, but they don’t care. They keep making empty promises while we suffer,” she said.

The failure to fulfill the promised allowance increase has further eroded trust in the Tinubu administration, which has already faced widespread criticism for economic policies that have exacerbated inflation, unemployment, and poverty across the country.