774,000 SPW Jobs: Finally, Program set to commence

The Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, has announced that the Special Public Works Program will now officially commence on 5th January, 2021.

The Special Public Works Program, a 3 month program in which each of the beneficiary would be paid a monthly stipend of N20,000 as part of the President Mohammadu Buhari's palliative measures to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable Nigerians, was stalled by a powerplay that occured between the then Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Dr Nasiru Mohammed Ladan Argungu and Mr Keyamo.

In a report contained in The Nation today https://thenationonlineng.net/774-000-jobs-get-jan-5-date/, the powerplay is unconnected to the intention of the then NDE Boss attempting to take over the program from Mr Keyamo who is the appointed Supervising Minister.

The report furthered that the NDE Boss was sacked after it was found that he resorted to a National Assembly Puppet used to get back at Mr Keyamo who had differed with the National Assembly over certain decisions on the Special Public Works Program.

The Honourable Minister of State, Labour and Employment who had obtained approval from President Mohammadu Buhari in October to postpone the commencement date to 1st November as it was a dry season program, was downplayed by the NDE Boss announcing a 1st December commencement date during his agency’s budget defence to the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment without a table discussion with the Supervising Minister.

Mr Kayamo had declined commenting on the furtherance of the Program after the hiccups until now.

Meanwhile, following the sack of Laden as announced by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, Mr Keyamo was directed by the President to sort for an immediate replacement resulting in the appointment of Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo as the Acting Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment, NDE.

The Special Public works has engaged 774,000 Nigerians, 1000 per LGA who would be involved in mild activities such as clearing of gutters, clearing of market square, traffic control and other minor activities that would be assigned to them as a necessity in each of the States of the Federation.