Osinbajo Clears Misconceptions About Promised 5,000 Naira Stipend

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, says contrary to the misconceptions about the Conditional Cash Transfer, the scheme is well thought out and will cater for thousands of unemployed youths.

In an exclusive interview, at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, Professor Osinbajo stressed that the cash transfer promised during the campaign of the All Progressives Congress was meant for the poorest in the society and not for the unemployed people, as popularly believed.

“There is a bit of misrepresentation of what it is.

“Some people have suggested that we are giving 5,000 Naira to unemployed young people. No!

“What we are doing for young people, graduates and the unemployed is the teachers’ scheme as well as the vocational training,” the Vice President explained.

He stressed that the government was looking at other aspects of social investments that would tackle the youth employment situation in Nigeria.

“Youth employment is very crucial, especially because we know now… with all of the percentages of out of school graduates and undergraduates who have been out of school for a while and have no jobs.

“We think that for graduate employment, a direct creation of jobs and the ‘Teach Nigeria’ scheme that will employ 500,000 teachers, will address some of that concern,” he said.

Professor Osinbajo further stated that the government was also looking at addressing the challenges of those who were not graduates.

“We are looking at investing in that also substantially and how we intend to do that is by this youth employment scheme that will involve a lot of training in vocational skills, entrepreneurship, business methods and all of that”.

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N5,000 Monthly Stipend Not Enough To Alleviate Poverty- PDP Senators

Two senators have urged the ruling All Progressives Congress to increase its proposed monthly allowance for unemployed Nigerians from N5,000, saying the amount was inadequate for alleviating their hardship.

The senators, who are Peoples Democratic Party members, said in Abuja, that APC should evolve a better welfare scheme that would assuage the pains of the unemployed and aged.

According to Foster Ogola (PDP-Bayelsa West), while the N5,000 monthly stipend promised by the APC is a good idea, it is not the solution to the needs of the people.

“The N5,000 palliative promised by the APC led government is not the solution to the endemic problem of poverty in the country; we have to teach Nigerians how to fish, not just give them fish.

“There must be a proper welfare scheme that takes care of the aged, who have served Nigeria; people, who have not received their entitlement, neither gratuity nor pension benefits.

“A soldier, for instance, cannot fight and after 35 years, still have to struggle to get his entitlement.

“As it is done abroad, the moment you are 70 years or more, you are entitled to free medical care; they are called the ‘seniors’ and they don’t pay transport fare,’’ he said.

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