Payment of N5,000 to unemployed youths begins next year —FG

The All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government, yesterday, said the payment of the N5,000 stipend to the unemployed Nigerian youths will commence next year.

It regretted that the payment could not take off immediately because it was not included in this year’s budget.

Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalong, revealed this yesterday in Abuja when he paid a condolence visit to the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at the national secretariat in Abuja on the demise of Prince Abubakar Audu, the late governorship candidate of the party in Kogi State election.

Dalong, who spoke with journalists, assured that APC government would also create more jobs to fulfill its campaign promises.

The party, during the electioneering campaigns, had pledged to pay N5000 stipend to unemployed youths monthly.

Said he: “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”.

The minister also said that he would soon convene a stakeholders meeting to help re-orientate the Nigerian youths.

In his remarks earlier, the National Chairman of APC, Chief Oyegun, expressed optimism in the performance of Dalong as Youths and Sports minister.