Osun West Senator Adelere Oriolowo, has written off the Federal Government’s 774,000 Special Public Works (SPW) Programme as undesirable.
Oriolowo said the N52 billion voted for the programme would have been of greater benefit if used to establish industries in the 109 senatorial districts to provide employment for youths or created skills acquisition schemes.
He condemned the resort to “money sharing” by governments and politicians, saying it was partly responsible for youth restiveness.
Oriolowo spoke while delivering a public lecture at The Wings Schools, Iwo, Osun State yesterday.
He spoke on “ Connecting Nigeria to its Teeming Youth: Detonating Time Bomb,” a topic adopted by the authorities of the institution to mark the International Youth Day.
Oriolowo frowned at the politics that have delayed the payment of the stipend to the participants even with the appropriation of N52 billion for the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in the 2021 budget.
He called for sanctions against politicians responsible for the delay and causing “fights and contests” over the appropriated fund.
He said: “Sometimes ago, the Federal Government disclosed that they want to distribute money. They earmarked N52 billion to empower the youth picked from 774 councils in the country by giving them N20,000 monthly for three months. They were to be given N60,000 each at the end of three months. This has resulted in fights and contests.
“Nigerians will always look for ways to make jest of politicians.”
