Labour Minister, NDE, Banks, resolve hitches over FG’s 774,000 jobs scheme

Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on Monday met with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and the seven commercial banks participating in the Federal Government’s Extended Special Public Works Programme (ESPW) implementing the 774,000 jobs scheme across the 774 local governments in the country to resolve the hitches slowing down the scheme.

The supervisory Office of the Minister of State Labour and Employment, in conjunction with the National Directorate of Employment and the participating Banks at a meeting in the Conference Room of the Office of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment on Monday reviewed the progress so far made in executing the Federal Government’s Extended Special Public Works Programme – 774,000 Jobs.

 The participants evaluating the updates on beneficiaries registration, verification and payments made as at Friday, 18th June, 2021, identified shortfalls recorded in registration, verification and payments, including the need for the public to be properly guided and updated.

All the participants, accordingly, made the following resolutions:

All parties affirm that they will continue the rigorous process of registering and verifying all the participants before payments in order to avoid wide-scale fraud in the programme. The banks will continue the role of registering and verifying the participants from their local branches in different LGAs in order to ensure that most of the participants are resident in those LGAs to achieve the aim and design of the programme of empowering 1,000 Nigerians in each of the 774 LGAs in Nigeria.

The meeting agreed that those who have already been selected for the ESPW programme and have issues should approach their various banks to regularize their registration. The Bank branches are directed to attend to all participants duly selected using https://banks.specialpublicworks.gov.ng. On no account should they be turned back.

Those who have been duly captured by the banks but with incorrect or inconsistent BVNs are advised to go back to their banks to rectify the inconsistencies. A link will be provided on the ESPW and NDE websites (www.specialpublicworks.gov.ng and www.nde.gov.ng) for participants to check their BVN status. For those who cannot use the internet, they should go to the State NDE offices, Liaison Officers of the NDE in their various LGAs or approach the Chairman of their State Selection Committee to avail them the list of those with issues with their BVNs.

For those who do not have problems with their BVNs but have not received payments, they should go to the banks that registered them to clarify the issues.

The banks are mandated to issue ATM cards to all participants. Participants are therefore encouraged to collect their ATM cards from the banks so that they can access their payments from various cash points without necessarily going to the banks.

Participants are assured that their stipends would be paid as soon as all issues are resolved.

The meeting agreed that banks are no longer restricted to their initially allotted Local Governments. Consequently, selected participants are at liberty to approach any of the seven selected banks nearest to the Local Government where they were selected. The Banks include Access, FCMB, Fidelity, Heritage, UBA, Yobe MFB and Zenith.

So far, the NDE has authorized the payments of one-month stipends to all those that have been verified. As shown above, all parties are making strenuous efforts to resolve issues of those yet to receive the first month stipends before the commencement of the second tranche of payments.

The communique specifying the resolutions was signed by the following:

Representatives of the Office of the Minister –

Olua Davidson

Faniyi Fatogun

Christopher Omoaghe

Representatives of the National Directorate of Employment –

laomi Roseline Silvia

Dauda Idris

Samaila B Mamman

Representatives of Banks –

Access Bank – Atinuke Sayo-Adeyemi

FCMB – Alero Bola-Pelemo

Fidelity Bank – Fatima Garba

Heritage Bank – ChiChi Alek

UBA – Arerepade Akagwu

Zenith Bank – Soibiye Iketubosin

Yobe MFB – Sheriff Mohammad Ibrahim