New Telegraph

774,000 jobs politically motivated, unsustainable –PDP Reps

The PDP Caucus in the House of Representatives has rejected and dissociated itself from the Special Public Works Programme of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

 

The caucus, in a statement yesterday signed by its chairman, Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), has consequently admonished its members to ignore the letters written to Senators and House members by APC state coordinators of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) on behalf of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, asking for the nomination of 30 and 25 individuals respectively from each local government area in their constituency.

 

Chinda said: “The caucus considers this correspondence a condemnable attempt to bribe and hoodwink the institution of the National Assembly into complicity in the misapplication of Nigeria’s scarce resources for the implementation of a questionable, misguided, absurd and arguably unlawful scheme that alarmingly intends to expend N52 billion under the guise of “creating employment” for only three months.

 

“This regrettably is the most unsustainable employment scheme implemented by any government.

 

“While the caucus espouses the eradication of poverty and the creation of gainful and sustainable employment for the burgeoning population of unemployed Nigerians under this administration, it flies in the face of reason and common sense why this government insists on expending enormous resources for the implementation of a politically motivated transient programme, dubiously shrouded as employment.”

 

The caucus leader said: “Elementary division of the approved programme budget of N52 billion by 774 LGAs in Nigeria implies expenditure of N67.184 million (about $150,000) in each LGA of Nigeria which if applied judiciously and transparently will suffice for the establishment of a viable industry in each LGA.

 

“From the estimated sum of N67.184 million intended to be expended in each LGA of Nigeria, N1 million per SME can be utilized for the creation and development of 67 SMEs per LGA who will engage in viable and lucrative businesses in agriculture, mining and other value chains that in most instances would be peculiar to each individual LGA and create gainful employment for up to three or more poor Nigerians per SME.”

 

According to the caucus, “The creation and development of 67 SMEs in each LGA will provide at least 134 actual sustainable jobs per LGA and 103,716 nationwide. The impact on Nigeria’s economy and GDP will be astronomical and will set Nigeria on the path to economic growth and development.”

 

 

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