We Still Have Plans To Hire 500,000 Unemployed Nigerian Graduates, Says Osinbajo

[caption id="attachment_13394" align="alignnone" width="699"]Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria[/caption]

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the Federal Government has not reneged on its promise to hire half a million unemployed Nigerian graduates.

Osinbajo disclosed this in a statement issued by his media office on Thursday.

The Vice President also ruled out reports in some sections of the media that the “poorest and vulnerable Nigerians” will be required to go online to apply for monthly N5,000 Conditional Cash Transfer promised by the APC government during its 2015 elections campaign.

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THE WHISTLER recalls that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration said earlier that it had earmarked N500 billion Social Investment Programmes, part of which will take care of the vulnerable Nigerians.

Osinbajo further ruled out allegations of marginalisation and mismanagement in disbursement of the said N5, 000 Conditional Cash Transfer.

“While we understand the need for an ongoing public discussion of this unprecedented budgetary allocation in favour of the Nigerian people especially the poorest and the most vulnerable, it is not correct to claim any form of mismanagement or marginalization whatsoever,” Osinbajo said.

“There has not been any disbursement from the allocated fund not to talk of any kind of mismanagement at all. While it is true that funds are being released for the social investment programmes, it is rather preposterous for now to say there is no evidence where the funds have gone to.

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“As an administration noted for its transparency, we intend to fully keep Nigerians posted on all financial expenditure in line with extant laws of the country.

“Of the series of social investment programmes we have outlined, only the job creation scheme-N-Power requires an online registration from unemployed graduates and non-graduate youths.”

“It is important to explain, again, for the benefit of clarity, that the requirement for online application for the N-Power job scheme makes absolute sense considering that all together the Federal Government is planning to hire half a million unemployed Nigerian graduates.”

“We are all witnesses to the calamity that occurred in the past when a manual effort was made to hire large number of Nigerian youths. It led to needless deaths and outright chaos.” It added

Addressing reports that Borno State indigenes will be discriminated through the online application of the N-Power process, Osinbajo said about 15, 000 Nigerians from Borno have already enrolled online.

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“Almost 15,000 Nigerians from Borno State applied in the first application series of N-Power schemes online,” he said.

“It is also not tenable to argue that people in Maiduguri for instance which today plays hosts to tonnes of international NGOs cannot apply online or are denied internet access.”

“Presidency officials collaborated actively with the Ministries of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Health and other government agencies all through the process. There were no foreign consultants involved, nor is one needed,” the Vice President added.

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