Jobless youths to receive N20k monthly by sweeping markets and clearing drainages _ FG

The Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, has launched a programme which will enable youths in the rural areas earn up to twenty thousand naira monthly. The youths will be engaged in sweeping of markets, clearing of drainages, cleaning of public infrastructures, traffic control and all other forms of Civil Social Responsibilities. 

This is in bid to reduce the high rate of unemployment in the country. 

During a news conference held on Thursday, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo said that the scheme will target over 1,000 youths from the 774 Local Governments in the country for a period of 3 months. 

The scheme known as Special Public Works in Rural Areas, is domiciled in the National Directorate of Employment for implementation. It is expected to kick-start by October. 

“It is a dry season/off-season transient job programme and was originally designed for the rehabilitation/maintenance of public and social infrastructure. Participants were to be paid an allowance of N20,000 monthly and were to be recruited largely from the pool of unskilled persons resident in those rural areas," Festus said. (Culled from PUNCH) 

The pilot scheme have been approved for implementation in 5 local government areas of 8 states namely; Adamawa, Borno, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Jigawa, Katsina and Kwara. About 40,000 temporary jobs are expected to be created from the Eight pilot states. 

All due payments are to be made directly into selected accounts of the beneficiaries, from the Central Bank of Nigeria.