By Ismail Auwal
The Senate Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday launched an investigation into the Federal Government’s N52 billion Special Public Works scheme.
The scheme, coordinated by the National Directorate of Employment and overseen by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, aimed to employ 1,000 unskilled youths for three months in each of the 774 LGAs.
The beneficiaries were expected to engage in public service works and receive a monthly stipend of N20,000.
Senators Thompson Sekibo (PDP, Rivers) and Michael Nnachi (PDP, Ebonyi) alleged that none of their constituents benefited from the scheme.
The committee directed the NDE to submit a detailed report on the scheme’s beneficiaries in 36 states and the FCT.
The committee specifically requested that the agency provide the names, phone numbers, and account information for the 774,000 beneficiaries.
A Director at NDE, Isah Abdul, requested for three weeks to compile the list.
