Ngige fusses more hullabaloo over N5, 000 allowance

Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, has again fussed hullabaloo over the N5, 000 allowance the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration pledged to hand out monthly to unemployed youths in the country.

Key government functionaries have over the last few months stated that the payment of the stipend is not feasible, but some have also reassured that government will pay.

But Ngige has said that the Federal Government will initiated empowerment programmes to engage unemployed youths as against the proposed monthly allowance.

Ngige while talking at the Special Day of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) at the on-going 27th Enugu International Trade Fair on Friday, said “Instead of paying youths N5,000 monthly for doing nothing, the government has initiated plans to engage hundreds of thousands of youths in the country with over 10 empowerment programmes.”

The theme of the fair is ‘Diversification of the Nation’s Economy: From Rhetoric to Coordinated Action’.

According to Ngige, such youths will be assisted to start their own businesses after such programmes, while others will be employed

Ngige said that the government had started taking stock of all the skill acquisition centres in the country and would soon roll out training programmes for them.

He also said that there was need for economic diversification from oil to other areas such as agriculture, and pledged government’s commitment to tackle poverty in the country.