By Angela Nwaeze Mbaocha
At least 13, 000 Ebonyians would be selected for the National Directorate of Employment(NDE) recruitment exercise.
This was disclosed by the chairman of the selection committee of the special public works programme of NDE in Ebonyi state, Chief Edward Nkwegu during their inauguration in Abakaliki.
The programme will last for three months and would take off in October this year. 1000 beneficiaries would be selected from each of the 13 local government areas that make up the state.
Recall that the National Assembly had suspended the programme following disagreement between it and the Minister of State for Employment, Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, early this month.
However, President Buhari has directed the Minister to go ahead with the programme which has been designed to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerian citizens.
The presidency approved the recruitment of the 774, 000 Nigerians under the scheme.
At the event, Ebonyi state commissioner of Police, CP Philip Maku, urged the committee to ensure transparency during the selection of 774,000 beneficiaries across the country.
He said only those who indicate interest for the jobs and were qualified for them, should be considered.
Maku called for due process, transparency and corrupt-free exercise in the recruitment process.
He was represented by Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations in the state command, Umaru Orji.
“The CP is advising that the selection programme for Eboyians who are going to partake in this exercise should be very much transparent.
“He advised also that only those that show interest and have applied should be considered. Let it not be a situation that those who applied; who are interested, who are willing to work, who have the zeal will be left behind and probably, it will be hijacked.
“He also advised that only those who are willing to do the job and can deliver to the expectation of the federal government should be considered”, Maku added
In his remarks, Chief Nkwegu reiterated that those that would be recruited would be engaged in roads rehabilitation and social housing construction, urban and rural sanitation, health extension and other critical services.
He said, “The 1000 persons you will recruit per local government would be engaged by the federal government between October and December this year to carry out public works that are peculiar to each local government area. They would be paid a total of N60,000 each, that is N20,000 per month amounting to seven hundred and eighty million naira(N780,000,000) in three months in Ebonyi state only.
- “The federal government will not hesitate to remove and replace any member of the committee that do not adhere strictly to guidelines given to the committee or acts in such a way and manner as to undermine the purpose of this programme”.
The former Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Martin Elechi, commended President Buhari for recognizing the plights of the downtrodden and decided to address it through the programme.
He told the committee members that if they perform well that it will be an introduction to something new.
He advised them to expect criticism, adding that such criticism which is allowed by democracy will be done in good fate.
