Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the Government never promised N5000
for unemployed graduates in the country but rather to the poor and
vulnerable in the society.
Osinbajo who spoke through his Media Adviser, Laolu Akande, said the
administration only promised to hire unemployed Graduates in the country,
train them as teachers and recruit them to teach pending when they are
able to get other jobs.
President Mohammadu Buhari had said he would not pay the N5000 stipend he
promised to unemployed youth in the country. The president made the
remarks at the weekend while on the visit in Middle East.
He said: “This largesse N5,000 for the unemployed, I have got a slightly
different priority. I would rather do the infrastructure, the school and
correct them and empower agriculture, mining so that every able bodied
person can go and get work instead of giving 5,000, N5,000 to those who
don’t work.”
The Vice President while responding to a question on PoliticsToday, a
Channels Television program said the promised monthly N5000 is already in
the 2016 and have not been jettisoned by the Government.
“It is already in the budget, that was what was promised and it is going
to be paid.”
According to the Vice President, “the president was reacting to
suggestions about paying N5000. The plan he has for unemployed graduate is
to hire them and train them as teachers. Nobody promised to pay N5000 to
unemployed graduate. The N5000 is for the vulnerable and poor in the
society.
The APC, which defeated the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party at the
March 28, 2015 presidential election, had promised during its campaign
that if elected to the central government, it would pay N5,000 monthly to
25 million jobless youths. It also promised to introduce a free
school-feeding programme.
None of those promises have been fulfilled in the face of tumbling Naira
and fall of the oil price globally.