From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, has inaugurated the extended special public works programme of the Federal Government aimed at engaging 7,774 youths across the federation.
The Special Assistant to Dada on Media, Ibrahim Aliyu, disclosed the commencement of the programme in a statement made available to Daily Sun in Abuja.
Declaring the programme open in Minna, the Niger State capital, Dada said the extended special public works programme was the outcome of the pilot special public works programmes in the rural areas approved by President Muhammadu Buhari and implemented by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in eight states.
Dada added that following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Economic Sustainability Committee under the Chairmanship of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to craft economic measures to cushion the adverse effects of COVID-19, hence the extension of the public works programmes to cover all the 774 local government areas of the Federation.
“He said in Niger State, twenty-five thousand beneficiaries were selected from all the local government that made up the state and that each participating local government has identified its preferred projects and will be responsible for ensuring full execution as planned,” the statement read.
Dada also urge the beneficiaries to fully utilise the opportunity given them by the Federal Government, even as he said the Federal Government will closely monitored the implementation of the programme to ascertain the efficient utilisation of every resources committed to it.
Also speaking, Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, called on all the local government chairmen in the state and other stakeholders to provide all the necessary support with a view to making the programme a successful one.
Bello who was represented by the Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Ahmad Matane, expressed optimism that within the duration of the programme, participants will be able to acquire skills thereby becoming self-reliant.
On his part, the Niger State Coordinator of the National Directorate of Employment, Alhaji Abubakar Malik, said the program would touch the lives of the people in the rural areas.
Malik reiterated the commitment of NDE to the success of the programme in Niger State.