The Presidency on Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari never at any point during his 2015 presidential campaign promised to pay N5,000 monthly stipend to unemployed graduates in the country.
It however said a a provision N500 billion had been made in the 2016 budget to execute six social safety net programmes.
One of such programmes, it was pointed out, was a conditional cash transfer where the Federal Government would pay N5,000 monthly to vulnerable and extremely poor Nigerians.
Laolu Akande, the media aide to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, stated these on Monday during an interview with State House Correspondents in Abuja following the pronouncement by Buhari that he would not pay unemployed Nigerians N5,000 monthly.
Buhari had said instead of doing that, he would rather generate employment for the unemployed.
Akande, however, said the payment of N5,000 to the less privileged contained in the 2016 Budget would be implemented.
Akande also said about of 500,000 graduates, who would be integrated into the teaching system, would be paid N5,000 token while on training.
He said: “The budget for 2016, which has been submitted to the National Assembly, has made an allocation of half a trillion naira, the first time in the history of this country’s budget, where you have that huge chunk of money allocated for social investment.
“There are six social safety net programmes.
“One of them is the conditional cash transfer where government is going to pay N5,000 monthly to the vulnerable and extremely poor Nigerians.
“That promise stands.
“The President never promised to pay unemployed graduates N5,000.
“The President never made that promise and the government never made that claim that it will pay N5,000 to unemployed graduates.
“The programme for unemployed graduates is the direct creation of half a million teaching jobs so that they will be trained.
“Five hundred thousand unemployed graduates will be trained to teach and they will be deployed to teach, while they are looking for their career paths or jobs.
“That still stands.
“In addition to that, there is also a scheme to train 370,000 non-graduate youth for skill acquisition and vocational training.
“During the time of that training, they will also be paid.
“So the President did not say that he would be giving unemployed graduates N5,000.
“The N5,000 monthly stipend, which is already in the budget, is for the vulnerable Nigerians and the extremely poor.
“Once the budget is okay, one million extremely poor Nigerians will receive N5,000 monthly.”
Trending
- Tax Conference: Sanwo-Olu, Zulum, Abiodun, others seek transparent tax system to boost IGR
- Autopsy failed to ascertain cause of Mohbad’s death – Pathologist
- Sanwo-Olu’s deputy chief of staff dies at 55
- Rowdy session as Reps move to probe breakdown of presidential air fleet
- Abure to NLC president: Let’s settle our differences
- Labour rejects FG’s proposed N48,000 minimum wage
- Updated: Five Wike loyalists quit Fubara’s cabinet
- Group tackles Arise TV’s Oseni over poor rating of Tinubu’s government