The Federal Government on Tuesday reiterated its commitment to the payment of the N5,000 stipend to the unemployed Nigerian youths.
Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalong, said the programme, which is one the key welfare programmes of the All Progressives Congress-led government, will commence next year.
Dalong spoke in Abuja when he paid a condolence visit to the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at the national secretariat in Abuja on the demise of Prince Abubakar Audu, the late governorship candidate of the party in Kogi State election.
According to him, it is regrettable that the payment can not take off immediately because it was not included in this year’s budget.
The opposition People’s Democratic Party has knocked the ruling APC for the promise of N5000 stipend to Nigeria’s unemployed, which number is well above over 20 million. Analysts question the ability to fulfil the promise that would mean paying out over N100 billion monthly as stipends for the unemployed, when the government struggles to pay regular salaries to its employees.
Dalong also said that APC government would also create more jobs to fulfill its campaign promises.
The party, during the electioneering campaigns, had pledged to pay N5000 stipend to unemployed youths monthly.
“I would want the youths to understand that every promise must be backed up by budgetary provision and our promise to pay N5000 is not contained in the 2015 budget. So, definitely, it is going to begin in 2016 as we have made budgetary allocations for that.
“We are committed to the campaign promises of creating jobs, providing wealth creation and combat poverty. We have embedded in our manifesto things that we are translating to reality.
“We are busy reviewing some of the youth empowerment programmes that are ongoing, to ensure that they are more viable and people oriented. We are also looking at the possibility of realigning some of them to our vision so that in the final analysis, it can add value to the people”.
The minister also said that he would soon convene a stakeholders meeting to help re-orientate the Nigerian youths.
In his remarks earlier, the National Chairman of APC, Chief Oyegun, expressed optimism in the performance of Dalong as Youths and Sports minister.
