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Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Friday ratified the recruitment of 1,638 Youths in the state into Social Work Scheme.
The beneficiaries which drawn from across the 16 Local Government Areas in the state gathered at Ilorin West Council Secretariat Headquarters, Ilorin, for grand finale ceremony of orientation, validation and enrollment into the payroll.
Addressing the beneficiaries, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq who was represented by the Commissioner of Environment, Mrs Remilekun Banigbe charged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the scheme and change their present insolvent state.
In her words: “I want to advise all the beneficiaries to ensure that you fully utilize the benefits of this programme which aimed at lifting you out of your present insolvent state, you can do this by indulging in contributory savings among yourselves. This will enable you find something to fall back on after the expiration in the next one year,” Gov AbdulRazaq advised.
The programme codenamed ‘NG-CARES’ is a initiative of the World Bank supported Programme in partnership with the Kwara State Government, designed to provide immediate employment opportunity in social sectors to mitigate the effect of Covid-19 Pandemic especially on the poorest of the poor households in the State in particular and Nigeria in general within two years.
Governor AbdulRazaq also admonished the people in charge of the programme to ensure that 1,638 kwarans are registered in the scheme.
“I want to admonish the staff of Labour Intensive Public Workfare, LIPW, not to leave any stone unturned by enrolling the maximum 1,638 beneficiaries in the scheme. It is by so doing that the poor and vulnerable youths in the state will be availed the full opportunities and benefits derivable from the impactful programme.”
Earlier in his welcome address, the technical head of the programme, Alhaji Shamsideen Aregbe disclosed that the scheme was designed to provide relief for vulnerable people, to mitigate effect of COVID-19 pandemic.
“This Labour Intensive Public Workfare Programme, LIPW, scheme under the auspices of the Nigerian COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus, NG-CARES, programme is designed to provide immediate employment opportunity in Social sectors, to address the emergency constraints of loss of labour income among poor and vulnerable households as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
He said the scheme is targeted at poor and vulnerable households of ages between 18 and 50 years, with educational qualification of Senior Secondary Certificate and below, saying that today is the grand finale of a month long tour of the 16 LGAs in the state.
Aregbe explained that the beneficiaries, are expected, among others, to clean and maintain public institutions and utilities, garbage and refuse collection and waste disposal, traffic control and repair of primary health centres, adding that they are to work within their immediate communities for four hours daily and 20 days in a month.
As compensation in return “each beneficiary would be paid the sum of N10, 000 monthly stipends for 12 calendar months after which another batch of 1, 638 new beneficiaries would be absorbed for one year again during which the scheme is expected to come to an end” he said
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