Ngige Reveals Youths Eligible To Receive N5000 Stipend

Chris Ngige, the minister of Labour and Productivity

Dr Chris Ngige, the minister of Labour and Productivity, has disclosed that not all youths will get the N5000 stipend as promised by the federal government.

Speaking at an event to mark the 5^th anniversary of Bina foundation and graduation ceremony of its students in Enugu, Ngige revealed that only helpless youths in the society will benefit from the N5,000 monthly stipends contrary to popular believes that the social welfare initiative was for all, Daily Post.

ADVERTISING

Ngige however added that the federal government intends to convert most of the unemployed graduates to teachers in a bid to tackle graduate unemployment.

While donating equipment worth N10m to the graduates, Ngige said: “The APC government anchored delivery on three pillars; security of lives and property, improving economy under which employment creation is the third sub-head, and infrastructure revival.

“You can see that employment creation is the main issue. We have heard people say we are waiting for N5, 000. We did not say we are paying N5,000 to all the youth. We are saying it is for the most vulnerable.”

“Most unemployed graduates would be converted to teachers. The move is equally aimed at boosting the education sector.

“For the social safety needs, we have budgeted N500bn for the next fiscal year.

“We have captured unemployed graduates. We are doing two things; we get those who read Law, Engineering and other disciplines but do not have jobs. We would train them for nine months and convert them to teachers.

“Most of our schools have half-baked teachers. We want to redefine our schools and make them what they are.

“We are also building skill acquisition centres. We have 12 of them across the country. The era of white-collar industry is gone.

“Nobody in Nigeria will be unemployed, people will learn how to use their hands.”

Reports had earlier emanated that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has started plans to pay the N5000 monthly allowance to the about N25 million unemployed youths in the country by 2016.

The All Progressives Congress had promised before the election that it would address the issue of unemployment by paying unemployed youths N5000 and also introduce a feeding programme to schools.

The Peoples Democratic Party had in a motion called on the president to immediately fulfil his campaign promise by implementing the N5000 payment to unemployed youths but the move was rejected by APC senators.