The N600 given as feeding allowance daily for a youth corps member was a couse for lamentation Tuesday by Senate Committee on Sports and Youth Development .
Chairman of the committee, Senator Obinna Ogba ( PDP Ebonyi Central) , lamentated when presenting the 2022 budget proposals of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development to the Senate Appropriations committee.
Obinna Ogba told the committee that the N5 billion earmarked for capital projects for the Sports Ministry and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) under it, was too meagre.
He said the worst aspect of underfunding of the ministry and its parastatals is the ridiculous N600 feeding allowance for a corp member per day which is even lower than N1,000 feeding allowance for a prisoner.
“It is worrisome that feeding allowance for a youth corp members per day is N600 while that of a prisoner is N1,000.
” The gross underfunding of the ministry that brought about this worrisome development must be addressed.
“It is appalling that prisoners who have committed crimes are going to enjoy more than the youth corp members who are serving the country.
“The prisoners should not be taking more than the youth corp members.
“You and I will agree that this is not the right thing. I’m only appealing to the executive and the legislature to do something about the youth corps members by increasing their daily feeding allowance from 600 to anything above N1000 .
Moved by his lamentation , a member of the committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi West) said increasing the feeding cost of NYSC members has become necessary for them to be patriotic.
“If the corps members are not well fed, it will be difficult for them to be patriotic,” he said.