Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, on Monday, explained that expensive equipment were not distributed for the Special Public Works Programme because of the short term nature of the scheme.
Keyamo had come under fire when viral photos show him sharing wheelbarrows and cutlasses to beneficiaries of the Special Public Works Programme.
Reacting, Keyamo said the government would have to spend extra funds to train the beneficiaries should it distribute expensive modern-day tools.
The minister tweeted, “The 774,000 jobs is basically for our everyday labourers to carry out community services. It would not be financially prudent if govt were to spend billions for expensive equipment for 3-month jobs, then spend millions again training our labourers on how to use these equipment.”
Keyamo had also said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), approved the commencement of the initiative.
The programme, which would engage 774,000 unemployed Nigerians, kicked off last week after several postponements.
The programme, designed to employ 1,000 Nigerians from each of the 774 local government areas in the country was initially scheduled for launch on October 1, last year but it ran into hitches following the power play between Keyamo and the Director-General, National Directorate of Employment,Nasir Ladan, who was sacked last month.
Each of the 774,000 workers will earn N20,000 monthly for three months duration of the job, amounting to about N46.44 billion.
The ministers are expected to launch the scheme in their respective states in collaboration with the governors.
