FG Employ 30,000 Youths As Agric Enumerators – Presidency

The Presidency says no fewer than 30,000 erstwhile N-Power beneficiaries have been hired as agric enumerators.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the N-Power, cash-for-work programme, inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 with 500,000 of direct beneficiaries, is spread across the key industries targeted by the programme – Agriculture, Health, Education, and Tax.

Citynews Nigeria learnt that Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

He said that Ministers and heads of agencies reported further progress in the implementation of the Federal Government’s Economic Sustainability Plan (ESC) as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo presided over ECS’s meeting on Monday at the Presidential Villa.

Highlights of the reports presented to the committee included the release of N37 billion for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs Survival Fund).

The Survival Fund covers such schemes like N50,000 Payroll Support for three months to over 300,000 beneficiaries; one-time grants of N30,000 each to about 100,000 artisans, and 100,000 business name registrations paid for by the Federal Government.

Amb. Maryam Katagum, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, reported the progress of the Survival Fund to the committee.

The Central Bank Governor(CBN), Godwin Emefiele, reported on the bank’s intervention including disbursement of over N192 billion for household/MSMEs grants to 426,000 beneficiaries across the country.

He there said there were plans to do over N100 billion more in that category named Targeted Credit Facility.

Emefiele said that under the collateral-free Agric-Business/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme, there were ongoing grants of concessionary loans from between N150, 000 to N2.5million.

In that category, the CBN governor disclosed that over N106 billion had been disbursed so far to over 27,000 beneficiaries.