If you’re a corps member and had already been dreaming about painting the town red with your new ₦77,000 allowance, I’m sure by now you’ve had a reality check. The second month of the year has come and gone, and the credit alert everyone received is still the same old ₦33k.
But Wait, Weren’t We Promised?
Flashback to January 23, 2025. The Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Yusha’u Ahmed, stood in front of corpers in Katsina State, chest out, voice loud with premium confidence and promised that the next credit alert will read ₦77,000. As soon as the budget was approved, it would kick in. But guess what? February stipends dropped, and the ₦77,000 was nowhere to be found.
Now, corps members are left wondering who they have offended.
The Struggle Is Real
Across Nigeria, with the inflation and biting economy corpers are frustrated, and honestly, they have every right to be. One corper put it plainly:
“FG promised us ₦77k, but we’re still on ₦33k? With the way prices are skyrocketing, it’s like the government is playing games with us.”
Another corper in a remote area shared how survival is a daily battle:
“I have to spend ₦500 every two days just to charge my power bank. That’s ₦7,500 a month just to keep my phone on! Water? Another ₦7,250 monthly. Before I even think of food and transport, my money don finish.”
Meanwhile, a Lagos-based corper broke it down further:
“I spend ₦2,000 daily on transport. If not for the Lagos State staff bus, it would be ₦4,000! Imagine spending all that to get to a PPA that doesn’t even pay me.”
And for those who still had a tiny bit of faith in the system, reality has set in:
“Honestly, I never really expected the FG to keep their promise. They always disappoint. I was just hoping that maybe, just maybe, this time would be different.”
So, What’s the Hold-Up?
If you’re wondering why the money hasn’t dropped yet, the answer is somewhere in Nigeria’s budget wahala:
• Step 1: Budget is prepared
• Step 2: National Assembly approves it (eventually)
• Step 3: Funds are disbursed (whenever they feel like it)
• Step 4: Implementation begins (hopefully before corpers pass out)
Long story short, the delay is most likely due to bureaucratic bottlenecks, meaning nobody really knows when—or if—the ₦77,000 will arrive.
What Now?
While corpers wait for their money to stop playing hide and seek, here’s the reality check. If you don’t already have a side hustle, now is the time to find one. Freelancing, selling something, anything to cushion the stress.
Use NYSC to build connections that will help you long after this service year is over. Network like your life depends on it—because in this economy, it just might.
Consider picking up a skill. The NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) program may not be perfect, but it’s something.
Until the government finally decides to pay up, corpers will continue to struggle. But one thing’s for sure: the fight for that ₦77,000 is far from over.
