FG To begin payment of N5000 next year

The Federal Government has declared that it will commence the payment of N5000 monthly stipends to the unemployed next year.

It said that the project could not begin this year because it was not captured in the 2015 budget.
Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalong, said this in Abuja on Tuesday during  a condolence visit to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at the party's national secretariat over the death of Prince Abubakar Audu who flew the party's flag in last Saturday's Kogi State governorship election.

“I would want the youths to understand that every promise must be backed up by budgetary provision and our promise to pay N5000 is not contained in the 2015 budget. So, definitely, it is going to begin in 2016 as we have made budgetary allocations for that.

“We are committed to the campaign promises of creating jobs, providing wealth creation and combat poverty. We have embedded in our manifesto things that we are translating to reality.

“We are busy reviewing some of the youth empowerment programmes that are ongoing,  to ensure that they are more viable and people oriented. We are also looking at the possibility of realigning some of them to our vision so that in the final analysis, it can add value to the people," he said.