Public Works Scheme: FG Confirms Payment Of Over ₦24bn To 413,630 Beneficiaries
The Federal Government says over 24 billion naira have been paid out to 413,630 beneficiaries under the 774,000 special public works scheme as of June 24, 2021.
Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, revealed this Thursday at the special weekly briefing organized by the Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
Keyamo said the beneficiaries drawn from rural communities and mostly itinerant workers have been paid.
He explained that contrary to negative opinions held by critics that the special works scheme may have failed over initial delays to effect payment, it has achieved a 60 per cent success rate.
Keyamo noted that the initial delays that greeted the programme had to do with discrepancies noticed during the registration phase, especially with bank verification numbers.
Keyamo revealed that despite his attempts to ensure due diligence in the implementation of the programme, he uncovered that some fraudulent Nigerians opened multiple bank accounts under a single BVN.
According to him, efforts to separate genuine applicants from those trying to fleece the scheme of its resources accounted for initial delays recorded in the kick-off of the programme.
The Minister said the lockdown occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic temporarily stalled the implementation process, but also led to President Muhammadu Buhari expanding the programme to enable those in the lowest cadre of economic strata to benefit.
He said President Buhari deserves commendation because this is the first time that itinerant workers are truly benefitting from a federal government social intervention scheme, as beneficiaries were drawn from a multi-sectoral approach.
On the sustainability of the scheme, Keyamo assured that the programme will be monitored closely, adding that President Buhari’s decision to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years is on course
