Date: 2021-07-05

LGAs in Public Workfare Activities

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is now set to engage the first batch of 1, 638 vulnerable Youths and Women from poor households for immediate employment in social works across the 16 Local Government Areas of the State.

The prospective beneficiaries, who are mainly unskilled Youths and Women from 18-45 years of age with educational qualification of SS3 Certificate or below, would be enrolled under the State Labour Intensive Public Workfare (LIPW) Delivery Platform of the Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES).

NG-CARES, which is a new initiative of the World Bank supported Programme in partnership with the Kwara State Government, was designed to provide immediate employment opportunity in social sectors to mitigate the effect of Covid-19 Pandemic especially on the poorest of the poor households in the State in particular and Nigeria in general within two years.

The Technical Head of LIPW Delivery Platform in the State, Alh. Shamsideen Aregbe in a statement said the Orientation, Validation, Enrolment and Bank Account Opening Programme for the prospective beneficiaries of the scheme would kickstart at Araromi-Opin, headquarters of Ekiti Local Government on Wednesday July 14, and thereafter move to other Local Government Areas in quick succession.

According to him, the selected beneficiaries of the scheme had been drawn from the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) Social Single Register (SSR), domiciled at the State Operation Coordinating Unit (SOCU).

The beneficiaries, Aregbe stated further are expected, among others, to clean and maintain public institutions and utilities, garbage and refuse collection and waste disposal, traffic control and repair of primary health centres, adding that they are to work within their immediate communities for four hours daily and 20 days in a month.

As compensation in return, each beneficiary would be paid the sum of N10, 000 monthly stipends for 12 calendar months after which another batch of 1, 638 new beneficiaries would be absorbed for one year again during which the scheme is expected to come to an end, Aregbe said.

The three weeks intensive Orientation, Validation, Enrolment and Bank Account Opening Programme is expected to be rounded off at a grand finale ceremony by July ending at Ilorin West Local Government Secretariat.

It would be recalled that staff of LIPW Delivery Platform had recently completed partnership building/sensitization visit to stakeholders and Community Vocal Persons in the 16 Local Government Councils, which signalled the commencement of Orientation Programme in the State.

Olayinka Jimoh Salau,

Information, Education & Communication Officer (IEC),

Kwara State NG-CARES (LIPW) Office, Ilorin.