Why we missed October deadline to employ 200,000 – Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has attributed the failure of the Federal Government to engage 200,000 graduates in October as promised to the need
to get the required equipment.

He however assured Nigerians that the graduates would be engaged in the next two weeks.

According to a statement on Sunday by his spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Vice-President disclosed this while speaking at the Apostolic Coalition Summit in Lagos.

“The programme should have commenced as of October 31, 2016, but is delayed on account of the fact that we are trying to get as many of the equipment that we require,” he was quoted to have said.

Osinbajo was referring to the tablets that would be given to all the 500,000 N-power undergraduate participants, according to the statement.

He further disclosed that out of the 200,000 unemployed Nigerians that have been selected, 150,000 would teach and serve in their communities; 30,000 would serve as Agric Extension Workers and 20,000 would serve as public health workers.

He added that each of the unemployed graduates would get a N30,000 monthly stipend, and also get an electronic tablet that would be packaged with several applications that would train and empower the participants.

The Vice-President reiterated that the N-Power scheme was launched as a volunteer programme “to create temporary opportunities for young graduates, to at least be doing something and many of them would be volunteer teachers, health officials and extension workers, who will earn a stipend.”