N5000 Allowance: Osun Govt Rejects Corps Members Over Increasing Wage

 

Kazeem Badmus

THE State Government of Osun has asked Ministries, Departments and Agencies to stop receiving members of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC). 

According to a circular issued from the office of the Head of Service and signed by S. A. Aina, corps members are to be posted to schools henceforth, advising the MDAs to comply with the directives with immediate effect.

Each of the corps members posted to the MDAs are being paid a sum of N5000 monthly allowance by the state government. 

The government said the needless engagement of corps members had resulted into an increase in monthly figures of corps members with an attendant increase in the monthly wage bill. 

Titled “Engagement and Deployment of Corps Members Across Ministries, Departments and Agencies” (MDAs), the circular was addressed to the Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff, Commissioners & Special Advisers, Chairmen of Boards & Statutory Commissions, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Non-Ministerial Departments, General Managers and Executive Secretaries.

It reads: “it has been observed with dismay that Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government have been engaging corps members without serious assignment for them. This needless engagement of corps members has resulted in the ever-growing monthly figures of corps members with the attendant increase in monthly wage bill.

“Worst still, the irrelevance of the disciplines of the majority of these corps members to such MDAs make them redundant for a better part of their service year.

“Arising from the above, and in line with the circular from the Ministry of Finance Ref. No.143/1 dated 31st January, 2022, it is now imperative to note that regulatory measure on engagement and deployment of corps members is still in force. 

“It is equally mandatory for all MDAs in dire need of corps members to complement their staff in critical areas to henceforth channel such requests, prior to their mobilization at NYSC Camp, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, justifying and indicating areas of specialisation and the number required. 

“Any MDA that violates this directive will not have such corps members pay-rolled.

“It is also to be noted that, henceforth, corps members are no longer to be posted to government MDAs but schools, so as to fully engage them and reduce the tendency of redundancy and truancy among them.

“All Accounting Officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government are hereby requested to note the foregoing for strict compliance.”