KEY POINTS
- ₦520m allocated for four ambulances continues to raise concerns
- ₦120m for bunk beds to improve corps members’ accommodation.
- Budget castigated for sky high costs and project opacity.
NYSC releases 2025 budget with ₦520m for ambulance buses, ₦120m for bunk beds, ₦35m for life jackets.
According to the allocations, contained in the 2025 Appropriation Bill, aimed at improving corps members healthcare, safety and accommodation in all the six geo political zones in the country.
A high spending and big gaps
There has been criticism of the ₦520 million allocation for four ambulance buses at ₦130 million per bus. Similarly, ₦400 million is being budgeted for four pickup vans, at ₦100 million per van. Critics argued that these prices are excessive and also calls for more transparency in the procurement process.
The accommodation upgrades are ₦120 million for 1,000 double bunk beds and ₦52 million for mattresses, but it is not clear what the distribution of these will be.
Some of the safety enhancements also include life jackets (₦35 million) for some, boreholes for orientation camps (₦45 million) and biometric scanners (₦9 million) but the beneficiaries of these are not clear.
Accountability questions
Some of the other high ticket items take the form of a ₦300 million Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Centre, ₦136 million to purchase 160 laptops, and ₦78 million for an MF tractor.
That there are no detailed breakdowns of these projects and an unspecified location for doing them makes enemies of the people worried about accountability and potential embezzlement.
Though the budget stems obvies for operational and welfare needs, critics contend that it does not fact key infrastructure improvements and training projects important to the all round development of corps members.
Clear allocation plans and transparency of the fund utilisation are necessary to regain the public trust in the NYSC’s dedication to her mandate.
