774,000 Jobs: Special Public Works Beneficiaries Groan Over Non-payment, Fault Banks

 

Barely 3 months since the official commencement of the Special Public Works Programme on 5th January, 2021, none of the 774,000 beneficiaries has been paid the N20,000 monthly Stipend across the States of the Federation.

The situation has intensified panic among the participants who said they have taken their working tools to actively participate in the programme close to three months now on hopes that they would be paid but the delay has become demeaning and unbearable. 

 

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, had Saturday 20th March, 2021 announced that President Mohammadu Buhari has approved the release of the 3 months stipends to the beneficiaries of the Special Public Works Programme (SPW) which he (Keyamo) had directed the NDE to begin processing the payments promising that the participants would begin to receive their payments in no distant time.

More than a week after the announcement, no payment has been initiated to the beneficiaries of the Programme.

The beneficiaries who were relieved after the announcement and continued with their duties which included sweeping of market squares, clearing of gutters, general environmental clean up among others, lamented that the work they are doing is stressful adding that such laborious engagement shouldn't be carried out on empty stomachs but they trusted the President Mohammadu Buhari led administration to have continued on their duties.

 

According to the participants, it is however debilitating that close to three months into the programme, the participating banks have not issued Account Numbers to many of the beneficiaries in some States of the Federation. 

The participants emphasised that running a check of their status on http://banks.specialpublicworks.gov.ng indicated that some of the beneficiaries have not been registered with their designated banks prior to recieving their Account details or being paid while they filled the account opening forms with the banks.

Some of the beneficiaries who recently recieved their Account Numbers sent to them by the designated banks stated that the account name linked to the account numbers differed with their real names on the Special Public Works Register.

The Beneficiaries appealed to the Federal Government to order the participating banks to as a matter of immediacy, fully implement the account opening process, issue account numbers to the participants and ensure no ommision in crediting the accounts of the beneficiaries.

The Special Public Works Program is a 3 month program in which each of the beneficiary would be paid a monthly stipend of N20,000 for doing  mild activities such as clearing of gutters, clearing of market square, road maintenance,  traffic control and other minor activities that have been assigned to them as a necessity in each of the States of the Federation

The program engaged 774,000 Nigerians across the Federation as part of the President Mohammadu Buhari's palliative measures to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable Nigerians.