RismadarVoice Reporters
September 12, 2026
Corps members serving across Nigeria are facing increasing difficulties securing safe and affordable accommodation, with many relying on friends, relatives, fellow corps members and religious organisations for shelter.
The crisis is particularly severe in major cities and communities where rising rents, transportation costs and other living expenses have made independent accommodation difficult for participants living on limited allowances.
While some employers provide housing, many corps members posted to organisations without accommodation are forced to rent homes near their Places of Primary Assignment, often paying hundreds of thousands of naira in rent and related charges.
The problem also extends to NYSC orientation camps, where overcrowding and deteriorating facilities have raised concerns about the welfare of corps members. The NYSC recently suspended an orientation exercise in Niger State over concerns about the condition of the camp.
Some corps members said the lack of secure accommodation had exposed them to additional risks, while others reported overcrowding, poor electricity and water supply, and long distances between affordable housing and their workplaces.
In response, parents and stakeholders have called for stronger accommodation support, improved orientation facilities and better enforcement of employers’ obligations to provide housing or a stipend instead of accommodation.
The NYSC has maintained that employers are expected to provide accommodation for corps members or pay a housing allowance, urging participants facing such challenges to report to their local government inspectors.
The growing complaints have renewed calls for federal and state authorities to develop a sustainable housing system for corps members and ensure that participants are not left to bear the full cost of accommodation during their mandatory year of national service.
