Director-General of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim has said the scheme is waiting for directives from the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, on when to begin the payment of the N30,000 new minimum wage to corps members.

He said serving corps members would be contacted about the payment once the NYSC gets details on the commencement of payment from the finance minister.

Ibrahim spoke in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a meeting between top management of the NYSC and representatives of state governments with the theme: Optimising the Potentials of Corps Members for National Unity and Development: The Role of State Governments as Stakeholders.

The director-general also said corps members would be communicated about the payment of arrears on the new minimum wage, which was signed into law in April by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: “The minister (of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare) has announced it and further details will be given to us by the Minister of Finance (Mrs Ahmed). This, we are waiting for.

“I want to assure that just as the minister said, the corps members also benefitted from the minimum wage. The moment we get the details, they will be contacted.

“We are going to commence the payment, as directed by the Federal Government. I have spoken to my corps members when I visited Jigawa State about four days ago. I told them that they also have benefitted from the minimum wage. And they were so excited and were praying for the Federal Government, saying it will enable them to perform more duties for the country.

“Once the government commences with the civil servants, the corps members will enjoy the same. Our minster has directed that the further details will be communicated to us by the minister of finance.”

Dare said the scheme had made immense contributions to the socio-economic, political and cultural development of the country, 46 years after it was established.

To sustain the achievements, the minister urged all levels of government to fulfil their obligations towards ensuring a smooth operation of the scheme.

He called for the creation of a working environment that would be conducive for the potential of corps members to be fully harnessed for national development.