Minister of state for labour and employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, says the special works programme under which 774,000 citizens will be recruited will kick off on November 1.

The programme was meant to kick start on October 1 but in a statement on Tuesday, Keyamo said President Muhammadu Buhari approved the postponement of the programme owing to floods in some of the project sites.

The minister said the selection process is progressing seamlessly across the 774 local government areas of the country.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved request of Minister of State, Labour and Employment, to reschedule the commencement date of the Special Public Works Programme from 1st of October to  1st of November, 2020,” he said.

“The programme is engaging 1,000 persons from each of 774 LGAs in the country for menial jobs for three months.

“The approval is based principally on the Minister’s Memo to Mr President informing him that most of the proposed project sites are still water logged and the rains have not abated, whereas the programme is designed for execution during the dry season.

“It is believed that by the 1st of November most of the project sites would be ready for work.

“Meanwhile, capturing of those to be engaged by the selected banks is progressing seamlessly across the 774 LGAs in the country. Information regarding the banks attached to specific LGAs can be found on the project’s website www.specialpublicworks.gov.ng.”

A total of N52 billion was voted for the programme in the revised 2020 budget. Beneficiaries would earn N20,000 monthly.

The Cable