From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives, yesterday, expressed worry about the non-implementation of the Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme, aimed at creating 774000 jobs nationwide, one year after the launch.
Consequently, the House mandated its committees on Labour and Appropriations to probe the non-implementation of the scheme and report back within two weeks.
This followed the adoption of motion by Mohammed Kazuare calling for inquest into the youth empowerment scheme.
Kazuare, in his motion, recalled that on October 20, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme to create employment opportunities for youths nationwide.
The lawmaker noted that the scheme was supposed to employ 1000 youths in each of the 774 local government areas across the country, making a total of 774000 jobs. However, he said more than one year after, the scheme is yet to take off.
“On 12 October 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme in Abuja aimed at creating at least 774,000 empowerment opportunities through direct youth empowerment, which is 1,000 youths per local governments across the six geopolitical zone in the efforts of the Federal Government to eradicate unemployment among the teeming youth.
“The primary role of the Scheme is to provide solutions to the Nigerian youth unemployment challenges through the execution of empowerment initiatives.
“The Scheme will be accessible to the literate, semi-literate and the non-literate population and the entry qualification is the ability and capacity to learn and be teachable.”