Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has raised hope with assurance that the Federal Government will not only create at least one million direct jobs this year, but will also pay the same number of poor Nigerians unspecified sums in the first phase of the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme.
Mr Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, said in a statement on Friday that Osinbajo disclosed these prospects during an interactive session with a cross-section of the Nigerian community in Burkina Faso.
Osinbajo was in Burkina Faso to represent President Muhammadu Buhari at the inauguration of its newly-elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
The VP said in addition to the 500,000 graduate-youths to be engaged as teachers, an estimated 500,000 non-graduate unemployed people would be trained as artisans.
The vice president explained that the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme is intended to utilise the thrift system to grant loans to market women to enable them to improve their businesses and earn a decent living.
He said the homegrown school feeding programme would not only provide adequate nutrition to school children, but also boost agriculture and create jobs and wealth locally.
Osinbajo assured the Nigerian community that the fight against corruption is a continuous one.
He said that the Buhari administration would not only prosecute those involved, but also recover all the loot that had been traced.
“We will go after Nigeria’s fund wherever it is found and we will recover it,’’ he said, adding, “our country is bound for greatness.’’
The vice president told the Nigerian community that President Buhari is a man to be trusted, a man of integrity.
“I am proud of our leadership and this is a great opportunity for the country to be great,’’ he added.
In his remarks, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, David Bala, described the one million Nigerians resident in the country as “peaceful and law-abiding.”
Michael Adeyanju, the leader of the Nigerian Community in Burkina Faso, thanked the Federal Government for attending the inauguration of the Burkinabe President.
He described the gesture as a sign of cordial relations between both countries.
He said Nigeria was the only country that donated 20 Hilux vans to assist the country’s electoral commission, adding that the gesture raised the pride of the Nigerian community.
-Leadership
