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Tag: Keyamo

  • Why Buhari cannot increase police salaries – Keyamo

    Why Buhari cannot increase police salaries – Keyamo

    Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has opined that the continuous #EndSARS protest rocking the country is becoming a mob action.

    He explained that some criminals have mixed with protesters to unleash terror on citizens and the police.

    Keyamo reiterated that President Muhammadu Buhari‘s regime was committed to improved welfare for members of the police.

    Reacting to one of the demands of #EndSARS protesters who want better remuneration for police officers nationwide, Keyamo said the President had just two years ago, increased policemen salaries.

    He added that at the moment, the Federal Government was not buoyant to increase the salaries of police officer at the moment.

    He said, “The President has no powers to come up tomorrow and announce new salaries for policemen. When you do that, you even trigger an industrial crisis because you have different segments of the society, doctors, civil servants, soldiers and others will make fresh demands.

    We just did a minimum wage last year. It was President Buhari that increased the salaries of policemen two years ago. It was after a rigorous exercise, almost 100 per cent increment. Corporals and all that went home all smiling.

    “You have to look at the national purse to do that. Right now, we are borrowing and that is why we are freeing up a lot of subsidies.”

    He emphasised that the reformation of the Nigeria Police Force is a process that won’t happen in a day.

  • Keyamo announces new date for take-off of FG’s 774,000 jobs

    Keyamo announces new date for take-off of FG’s 774,000 jobs

    The Federal Government has rescheduled the commencement of the Public Works Programme aimed at engaging 774,000 people, 1000 each from all the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.

    The programme, expected to engage the Nigerians for menial jobs for three months has been moved from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.

    Mr Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State, Labour and Employment said this in a statement signed by Mr Charles Akpan, the Deputy Director and Head of Press and Public Relations on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Keyamo said that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the new date for the programme.

    According to the minister, the approval is based on his memo to the President informing him that most of the proposed project sites were still water-logged as the rains had not abated.

    He said that the programme was designed for the dry season when most of the project sites would be ready for work.

    Keyamo said that capturing of those to be engaged by the selected banks had been progressing seamlessly across the 774 local government areas.

    He therefore noted that the information regarding the banks attached to the specific local government areas could be found in the project’s website: www.specificpublicworks.gov.ng.

    He said that more information was also available with the various state selection committees.

  • Increase in petrol, electricity tariff: Keyamo gives updates after FG, Labour meeting

    Increase in petrol, electricity tariff: Keyamo gives updates after FG, Labour meeting

    Festus Keyamo, Minister of State, Labour and Employment, has given an update on the meeting between the Federal Government and labour unions over the new price of fuel and electricity tariff.

    Keyamo noted that representatives of government and labour adopted resolutions in the area of VAT being used to temporarily subsidize tariffs.

    According to Keyamo, the new agreement involves using Value Added Tax (VAT) from Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) to give relief to customers within the Bands A, B, and C affected by the recent cost-reflective electricity tarrif.

    It would be recalled that as part of the agreement between the organized labour and FG on the 28th of September, a committee chaired by The Minister of Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo has been meeting on the electricity tariff.

    In a tweet by Keyamo on Sunday, the committee which has representatives of Labour, government and Electricity Distribution Companies, has now reached the new agreements.

    According to the agreement, the relief will be for a period of 2-3months, where customers will get N10.20 per KWh which will be sourced from the proceeds of NESI VAT.

    Also, the group agreed that the 6million meters which are to be distributed free of charge to Nigerian are to be sourced locally, with the aim to create jobs.

     

    He wrote: “At this time (11.15pm) the Govt team and Labour are meeting to consider the report of the Technical Committee on Electricity Tariffs set up two weeks ago and headed by my humble self ⁦(@fkeyamo⁩). We have presented our report to the larger house. Communique expected soon

    “Labour and Government have adopted these Resolutions of the Adhoc Committee I chaired. Highlights include using VAT proceeds to temporarily subsidize tariffs whilst my Committee will work for two more months to resolve other issues that may substantially affect tariff adjustments.

    “Other immediate reliefs include provision of six million free meters to Nigerians, salary protection for electricity workers, mandatory refund for any over-billing during system transition by the Discos, monthly publication by NERC of allowed billing of unmetered customers, etc.”

     

  • VIDEO: Angry youths match against SARS in Delta, bring coffins

    VIDEO: Angry youths match against SARS in Delta, bring coffins

    There was tension in Delta State on Sunday following an alleged killing of a yet to be identified man by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

    Some aggrieved youths in Ughelli, Delta State on Sunday came out en masse to protest against police brutality in the Southern state.

    The irate youths as seen in a viral video hired a truck and loaded it with coffins.

    In the video, some of the protesters demanded that the government should ban SARS officials from operating in the Ughelli part of Delta State.

    Watch video:

    Meanwhile, the Hon. Minister of State, Labour & Employment, Festus Keyamo in a series of tweet on Sunday clarified some of the controversies surrounding the incident.

    According to Keyamo (a) The outfit involved in this case is called Operation Delta Safe and not SARS (b) the victim was not shot as confirmed by his brother, but fell out of the Police vehicle when being taken to the station after arrest. The brother said he was pushed; the Police said he jumped.

  • National Assembly, Keyamo and 774,000 special jobs, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    National Assembly, Keyamo and 774,000 special jobs, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    By Ehichioya Ezomon
    Lately, Nigerians were treated to a back-and-forth argument over whose responsibility it is to implement the 774,000 short-term job openings, worth N52 billion, under the Special Public Works (SPW) programme in the 774 local government areas in the country.
    The disagreement has culminated in the House of Representatives declaring the portfolio of “Minister of State” as unknown to law, as preserved in section 145(1) of the amended 1999 Constitution.
    Specifically, the conflict is between the lawmakers and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, whose portfolio the House claims isn’t known to law, and by implication the Senate-cleared nominee heading the position.
    To the lawmakers, the “aberration” makes Mr Keyamo (SAN) to “refuse to be guided on the method adopted by Parliament for its proceedings, and his assertion that ‘only Mr President can stop our work,’ not our laws nor our institutions.”
    Thus, the lawmakers declared in a motion on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, that “this attitude may jeopardize the capacity of the National Assembly to oversight and ensure prudence, as enshrined in sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution.”
    “The House is determined to prevent any mischief, wastage of scarce public resources, lack of accountability and defeat of the aims and objectives of the Special Public Works programme,” the lawmakers said in their resolution.
    They urged the Ministry of Finance not to release any funds for the implementation of the programme “if it was in breach of due process, the Appropriation Act 2020 as well as the National Directorate of Employment, NDE Act.”
    And the “due process” is that “the Appropriation Act 2020, a valid law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is clear that the NDE is the implementing agency for the Special Public Works (SPW).”
    Deputy minority leader, Toby Okechukwu and, the chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, stated this in the motion: “The Need to Uphold the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) Act In The Implementation of the Special Works Programme.”
    The motion got overwhelming support of members when House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila put it to a voice vote, thus temporarily halting implementation of the programme to “meaningfully engage” 1,000 youths from each of the 768 local government areas and six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
    But the questions arise: Why should a stop-gap programme by the Federal Government to tackle unemployment become subject of flexing of the muscles between the executive and legislature?
    Why should the Minister of State, so designated by the executive, at least, since the return of democracy in 1999, suddenly become “unknown” to the National Assembly, which pulls out all the stops to abort his supervision of implementation of the job placements?
    The answer to these “whys” is self-interest couched in the eternal supremacy battle between the executive and legislature over which controls the purse, and what and how to allocate and disburse resources from the pool.
    Ordinarily, the work of the legislature ends at appropriation or allocation of resources to programmes presented in an annual budget or via a supplementary, while the executive takes care of implementation of those programmes.
    But in Nigeria’s peculiar brand of “separation of power,” the legislature, hiding under “we have the power of the purse” and “oversight,” wants to be the appropriator and implementer of budgets and programmes presented by the executive.
    If the legislators’ interest is really to ensure “oversight and prudence of scarce resources,” as mandated in sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution, they shouldn’t crave for allocation of slots, and even protest, as inadequate, the 30 slots each allocated to them.
    They weren’t satisfied with the fact that their constituents would benefit from the 1,000 jobs per each of the 774 local government areas in the country, perhaps because of our system that merges several local government areas to form a federal constituency.
    While many local government areas stand alone, lawmakers, representing constituencies of multiple councils, may gain more in the distribution of the jobs per local government area.
    Besides, the lawmakers’ initial worry was that Mr Keyamo’s stand for the executive to implement the SPW programme would deprive them of having slots allocated to them, which they would bandy as part of the “dividend of democracy” to their constituents.
    Consider these claims in Rep Okechukwu’s motion: “Note that the supervisory powers conferred on the Minister of Labour by Section 15 of the NDE Act do not condone any abnormalities or allow the Minister to do so without regards to the law.
    “Also… by our laws, as presently constituted, the NDE is an implementing agency with the Minister of Labour, not Minister of State, an aberration and indeed an entity unknown to the law, as the supervising Minister.”
    Yet, when slots were conceded to them, the legislators feared Keyamo could play some pranks; hence the clamour for the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, to rise to his statutory responsibility of supervising the NDE on the job placements.
    The legislators’ protest isn’t new; it follows a familiar trajectory whenever government strives to tackle unemployment. Often, Nigerians learn through the “grapevine” about thousands of job openings in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
    These vacancies are filled, behind the scenes, by the powerful in the society. Even when the recruitments are publicised, thousands or millions of applicants go through rigorous processes, including forced physical exercises and payments of processing fees.
    In the end, only a negligible number of applicants get recruited from the available “limited” openings, while the bulk of the spaces are hijacked by those that decide the fate of the average Nigerian.
    Sometimes, the entire recruitment is aborted midway, after the applicants have gone through unimaginable processes, such as strenuous physical exercises, for paramilitary positions.
    Recall the tragedies during the recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in March 2014, with several deaths from exhaustion and stampedes at the Abuja and Lagos centres.
    The public outrage post-the scammed recruitments nationwide didn’t move government to sack the Minister of Interior, and refunds weren’t made to applicants of their processing fees, that reportedly raked in billions at N1,000 from the over one million applicants.
    Despite maltreating and cheating fellow Nigerians in need, the said former Minister is today a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What recompense to the culprit instead of the victims!
    In the absence of deterrence, there will be controversies, as in the current job openings, as politicians and the powerful seek to corner, to themselves and their cronies, what belongs to the majority.
    * Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
  • Constitution does not recognize Minister of State – Reps slam Keyamo

    Constitution does not recognize Minister of State – Reps slam Keyamo

    The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to give directive to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige to act according to existing laws on the planned Special Public Works (SPW) programme.

     

    The House stated that the Constitution does not recognize the office of the Minister of State and also directed the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed not to release funds contrary to that resolution.

     

    The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechuckwu on Tuesday.

     

    It would be recalled that both the National Assembly and the Minister of State (Labour), Festus Keyamo have been at daggers drawn over the implementation of the N56billion special works programme.

     

    Moving the motion, Okechuckwu said that 202 appropriation law recognizes “the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) Act as the implementation agency.”

     

    He added that “Minister of State” is not a creation of Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution. This may therefore be the reason for the refusal of the Minister of State to be guided on the method adopted by Parliament for its proceedings and his assertion that “only Mr. President can stop our work”, not our laws nor our institutions.”

     

    Also speaking on the motion, Uzoma Abonta from Abia State condemned the executive for disregarding existing laws by adopting short term interventions.

  • 774,000 jobs: Senate snubs Keyamo, insists NDE must carry out recruitment exercise

    774,000 jobs: Senate snubs Keyamo, insists NDE must carry out recruitment exercise

    The Senate, on Tuesday, insisted that it is the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) that is statutorily empowered to carry out the recruitment of 774,000 low skilled Nigerians for the special public works scheme.

    Recall that the Senate and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Kayamo SAN have been at daggers drawn over who should carry out the recruitment.

    While Keyamo insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari specifically directed him to carry out the recruitment, the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment thinks otherwise.

    According to the Senate panel, the NDE is to anchor the recruitment under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

    However, the Upper Chamber following a motion moved by the Chairman Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), insisted that the implementation of the scheme remained under the purview of the NDE.

    The Senate argued that the N52 billion appropriated for the programme was done under the budget of the NDE for implementation.

    It therefore asked the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity to stick to its supervisory role.

    “The appropriation of 52 billion for the 774,000 public works scheme is vested in the NDE and therefore must be implemented accordingly, while acknowledging the supervisory role of Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity,” the Senate said in its resolution.

    Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in his closing remarks, said the National Assembly still stands on the fact and the law that NDE is entirely responsible for the implementation of the programme.

    “The ministry has supervisory role and the National Assembly has the oversight function,” Lawan said.

    He assured that the National Assembly would oversight the scheme very closely so that Nigerians benefit.

  • JUST IN: Buhari snubs NASS, directs Keyamo to proceed with 774,000 special jobs

    JUST IN: Buhari snubs NASS, directs Keyamo to proceed with 774,000 special jobs

    President Muhammadu Buhari has given Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, the go ahead to recruit 774, 000 Nigerians under the Special Public Works Progamme (SPW).

    Recall that the National Assembly had told Keyamo to halt action on the planned recruitment, as the minister did not consult them before embarking on such move.

    They accused the Minister of trying to hijack the scheme from the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the implementing agency of the project.

    But Keyamo said on Tuesday that the president had given him unfettered go ahead on the recruitment.

    “I have the instructions of my boss, Mr. President, to proceed unhindered,” Keyamo said in a text message on Tuesday afternoon.

    The lawmakers had invited Keyamo in June to give details of the Special Public Works Programme where 774,000 people would be recruited by the Federal Government under the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).

    The employment will be for three months, from October till December.

    During the meeting which was held at the National Assembly in Abuja, members of the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Labour sought to find out the method of selection of a 20-man committee from each state for the programme.

    However, a heated argument erupted between committee members and Keyamo over who should head the programme which was to be domiciled under the NDE.

    A rowdy session followed.

    The committee decided to go into a closed-door session to discuss the matter, but the minister refused, insisting that further discussions be held in the presence of journalists.

    This enraged the lawmakers who told Keyamo to apologise to the committee, but he ignored them.

    Thereafter, the minister was asked to leave the meeting since he refused to apologise to the committee members.

    The lawmakers claimed that Keyamo has no right to direct the committee on how to conduct its proceedings.

    This comes a day after the minister inaugurated a 20-man committee in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by virtual means.

    According to him, 1,000 persons would be selected from each of the 774 local government areas in the country to be engaged by the government in the Special Public Works Programme.

  • 774, 000 jobs: Again, Keyamo, NASS clash on debate over project execution

    774, 000 jobs: Again, Keyamo, NASS clash on debate over project execution

    The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo has again reiterated to the Nigerian senate that the constitution empowers his office to supervise the execution of the Special Public Works Programme of the Federal Government.

    Keyamo made the disclosure in a press statement made available to TheNEwsGuru (TNG) after the Senate Committee on Labour called for a new proposal to implement the project.

    Earlier today, Senate Committee on Labour had in a meeting with the President of Senate Ahmad Lawan and Ministers of Labour declared that the earlier proposal on implementation of the project presented by Keyamo was null and void.

    Senate at the meeting directed the Director-Generator of NDE, Dr Nasiru Mohammed to present a new proposal for implementation of the program,insisting that NDE must implement the programme and not the Ministry.

    KEYAMO’s reaction:

    THE DIRECTIVE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR THE DG OF NDE TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO PLAN AND EXECUTE THE SPECIAL PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE MINISTER

    Earlier today, I appeared again before the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Labour and Employment. Before the Committee sat, we paid a courtesy call on the Senate Leadership where the Senate President announced that I, as supervising Minister of the NDE, should hands off the preparation and execution of the Programme. He further directed the DG, NDE to bring his plans for the execution of the Program DIRECTLY to the National Assembly on Monday, July 13, 2020, for scrutiny and approval. The Joint Committee also took a similar position and adjourned.

    With the utmost humility, I regret to say these directives are against the provisions of the NDE Act made by the National Assembly itself and the Constitutional provisions on Separation of Powers.

    1. By virtue of Section 3 (2)of the NDE Act, as supervising Minister, I am the Chairman of the Board of NDE that superintendents and gives directions to the Management of the NDE

    2. That by virtue of section 15 of the NDE Act, I am also authorized, as supervising Minister, to give general directives to the Board and Management, with which they must comply.

    3. By virtue of Section 16 (1) of the NDE Act, the supervising Minister has the sole prerogative to constitute Committees for the Agency.

    4. ​In addition to the above, Section 6(2) of the National ​​​​Directorate of Employment Act states that, ‘The Director-​​​​General shall, subject to this Act, be the Chief Executive of the ​​​Directorate and shall be responsible to the Minister for the ​​​day-to-day management of the affairs of the Directorate.”

    ​5. By a memo Ref: CAO.143/S.1/T11/8 dated October 18, 2019, and forwarded to all Government functionaries by the ​​​Secretary to the Government of the Federation, I was mandated ​​​by Mr. President to oversee all the activities of the National ​​​​Directorate of Employment.

    ​6. In addition to the above, by a letter, Ref: SH/COS/14/A/1217 ​​​dated 6 May, 2020, Mr. President, once again, approved that I ​​​supervise the preparation and execution of the Special Public ​​​Works Programme domiciled under the N.D.E

    However, today, the National Assembly swept aside all these provisions of the law and Presidential directives and authorized the DG of NDE to proceed to submit a plan without the express approval of the Minister. This was done in a desperate bid to get me out of the way AT ALL COST.

    My involvement in this process so far is to constitute multi-sectoral Committees at State levels to ensure a grassroots selection process. This was done after an inter-Ministerial Committee headed by the DG NDE made such a recommendation which I accepted. As stated above, I am authorized to do so by virtue of Section 16 (1) of the NDE Act. As a result all the sponsored allegations and attacks in relation to my role so far are nothing but cheap blackmail. My actions are backed by law.

    In the circumstances of the above, I regret to say I am not bound by such a patently illegal and unconstitutional resolution by the National Assembly and I am only bound by the provisions of the law and the Constitution that all public officers swore on oath to uphold.

  • 774,000 jobs: Keyamo writes NASS Committee, highlights issues at stake before second appearance

    774,000 jobs: Keyamo writes NASS Committee, highlights issues at stake before second appearance

    Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN has written to the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Labour, Employment and Productivity on issues at stake concerning the Special Public Works programme.

    The programme which was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari and handed over to Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo (SAN) for coordination was meant to temporarily absorb 774, 000 vulnerable Nigerians affected by the novel coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic.

    By the arrangement, 1, 000 Nigerians who would earn N60,000 each on a monthly basis for three months are expected to be recruited in each of the 774 local government areas, of the country.

    The programme was expected to take off in October this year.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the minister and the lawmakers were last Tuesday involved in a stormy session over the programme which was inconclusive.

    To avoid a repeat, the minister said it was best to intimate the lawkers and the general public of details of the programme.

    Read his letter below:

    774,000 JOBS: KEYAMO PUBLICLY OUTLINES THE ISSUES AT STAKE BEFORE SECOND APPEARANCE AT NASS JOINT COMMITTEE

    Monday, July 6, 2020

    To the Joint Committee of the National Assembly
    on Labour, Employment and Productivity,

    Through:

    The Chairman,
    Senate Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity,

    AND

    The Chairman,
    House of Representatives’ Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity,

    National Assembly Complex,
    Abuja.

    Dear Distinguished Senators and Hon. Members,

    RE: INVITATION TO A JOINT INTERACTIVE MEETING

    Following our inconclusive Interactive Meeting on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, I have been informed again of another Interactive Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 7, 2020. I thank you for another opportunity to clarify all the issues regarding the execution of the Extended Special Public Works Programme which is very dear to the heart of Mr. President and millions of Nigerians to whom we are all accountable.

    However, I have decided to make a written submission on issues surrounding the Programme to the Joint Committee ahead of my appearance this time for the following reasons:

    (a) To properly lay before the Joint Committee and the Nigerian people in writing the modus operandi for executing this Programme as it is the responsibility of my office to supervise the preparation and execution of this Programme by the clear directives of Mr. President conveyed on the 6th of May, 2020.

    (b) To help the Distinguished Senators, Honourable Members and the Nigeria people to narrow down the issues at stake before the said interaction.

    (c) To have the opportunity to fully express myself in advance as time and circumstances may not allow me to fully express myself before the Joint Committee. This is because, on Friday, July 3, 2020, in a programme called HARD COPY on Channels Television, the Chairman of the House Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity, Honourable Muhammad Ali Wudil have already publicly accused me of flouting certain unknown rules in arriving at the States’ Selection Committees. Consequently, I may not be able to get a fair hearing from him, especially as he is the one that has been at the forefront of insisting on controlling and dictating the execution of this programme behind the scene. He also made frantic efforts to stop the inauguration of the States’ Selection Committees through series of phone calls to me.

    (d) It is also to avoid a situation where any attempt to fully express myself during the session or to call in aid provisions of the law and the Constitution as the basis of some of my actions so far may be misinterpreted as an affront to the Joint Committee. I would rather express those thoughts here and keep a dignified silence if some of those issues become points of contention again. This is because as a trained lawyer and a member of the Inner Bar (a Senior Advocate of Nigeria), and having sworn to uphold the Constitution as a public officer, I would be doing a great disservice to my primary constituency (the legal profession) and to my God-given conscience if I am made to concede issues that I know are constitutionally, legally and morally wrong just to let “things go on”.

    (e) Finally, because the main purpose of your powers of investigation under section 88 of the 1999 Constitution is to “expose corruption, inefficiency and waste”, it is important we lay bare our plans for the Programme publicly. “Exposure”, to my mind, will require a public inquiry, not a private one, if we must
    keep strictly to the provisions of the Constitution. Therefore, my writing in advance will absolve me of any accusation of impertinence as I most respectfully regret to say that I would be unable to say anything outside of these submissions in any closed door session.

    EXTENDED SPECIAL PUBLIC WORKS ACROSS THE 774 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF THE FEDERATION

    INTRODUCTION:

    (1) You will recall that on Monday, 6th of April, 2020, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning in a Press conference, announced the approval of Mr. President for the extension of this programme to all 36 states and the FCT from October- December, 2020 as a means of mitigating the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.

    The Programme is also expected to provide modest stipends for itinerant workers to undertake roads rehabilitation and social housing construction, urban and rural sanitation, health extension and other critical services. Hence, the directive of Mr. President for the NDE to collaborate with other Ministries with rural components in their mandates to work out the modalities for the execution of this Programme.

    BASES FOR MY SUPERVISION OF THE PROGRAMME:

    ​(1a).​By a memo Ref: CAO.143/S.1/T11/8 dated October 18, 2019, and forwarded to all Government functionaries by the ​​​Secretary to the Government of the Federation, I was mandated ​​​by Mr. President to oversee all the activities of the National ​​​​Directorate of Employment.

    ​(1b).​In addition to the above, by a letter, Ref: SH/COS/14/A/1217 ​​​dated 6 May, 2020, Mr. President, once again, approved that I ​​​supervise the preparation and execution of the Special Public ​​​Works Programme domiciled under the N.D.E

    ​(1c).​In addition to the above, Section 6(2) of the National ​​​​Directorate of Employment Act states that, ‘The Director-​​​​General shall, subject to this Act, be the Chief Executive of the ​​​Directorate and shall be responsible to the Minister for the ​​​day-to-day management of the affairs of the Directorate.”

    ​(1d).​It is on the bases of these Presidential and legal mandates that I ​​​supervise this programme. “Supervision”, for all intents and ​​​ purposes, means “direction”, “command”, “administration” and ​​ “control”. In other words, the final buck, in all matters relating to ​ ​ this programme, stops on my table.

    MEETING WITH OTHER MINISTERS:

    (2) In furtherance to the directive of Mr. President, I conveyed a meeting with the following Ministers on Wednesday, 15th of April, 2020:
    (i).​Minister of Works and Housing
    ​(ii)​ Minister of Environment;
    (iii)​ Minister of Water Resources
    (iv)​ Minister of Agriculture
    (v)​ Minister of Transportation
    (vi)​ Minister of Health and,
    (vii)​ Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

    INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE

    (3) At the meeting, it was resolved that an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee be set up with the following mandates:
    (a) Strategize on the implementation framework
    (b) Collate the respective rural programmes for each ministry that ​​ can be implemented under the Extended Special Public Works
    (c) Review the implementation of the Pilot Programme and make ​necessary recommendations
    (d) Recommend appropriate implementation structure
    (e) Recommend appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms ​and
    (f)​Develop an achievable implementation timeline.
    (4) Consequently and in exercise of my powers as Supervising Minister under Section 16 (1) of the NDE Act, I inaugurated a Special Inter-ministerial Committee on the Extended Special Public Works on Wednesday, 29th April, 2020 and appointed the Director-General, NDE to Chair the Committee. Members of the Committee included Directors representing the seven Ministries. (Committee List Attached).
    (5) This Committee sat for some weeks and in their collaborative capacity they proposed a list of projects within their Ministries that may require the intervention of the Extended Special Public Works Programme. Over 3,000 projects and 42,000 Manpower were proposed by them. In a Steering capacity, the Committee also made certain recommendations to me which I accepted substantially. It was this Inter-Ministerial Committee that recommended a 20-member States’ Selection Committee which I substantially accepted.

    20-MEMBER STATES’ SELECTION COMMITTEE

    (6) However, whilst addressing the Press on the 28th of May, 2020, on the progress we have made so far with the Programme. I laid out the composition of the 20-member States’ Selection Committee pursuant to the powers of the Minister under Section 16(1) of the NDE Act as follows:
    (i) A Chairman and Vice-Chairman who shall be indigenes of that ​​State or who are ordinarily resident in that State.
    (ii) The State Co-ordinator of the N.D.E of that State who will be the ​​ Secretary.
    (iii) ​One representative of the Governor of that State.
    (iv) The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria of that ​​ State or his representative/nominee.
    (v) The State Chairman of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic ​ Affairs or his representative/nominee.
    (vi) The State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport ​​​Workers or his representative/nominee.
    (vii) The market woman leader in that State
    (viii) Three persons (one from each Senatorial District) representing ​​ the traditional institutions in that State.
    (ix) Two persons (one male and one female) from each of the ​​​​Senatorial District of the State (that is six persons) representing ​​recognized youth organisations in those States.
    (x) A representative of a prominent Civil Society Organisation of that ​ State.
    (xi) Two persons representing some peculiar interests in those ​​​​States.

    (7) Let me state clearly here that all members of the State Selection Committees are not persons holding any official position in any of the registered political parties. If any of them listed is an official of any political party, then the State Chairman of the Selection Committee of the SPW shall fill that position with another person representing that interest. I stated this in order to make this process as apolitical as possible.

    IS THE 20-MEMBER COMMITTEE A WASTE OF NATIONAL RESOURCES?

    (8) Interestingly, despite the assertion of Hon. Muhammad Wudil on television that the twenty (20) members of the Committees would be a waste of national resources, if he had properly read the budget, he would have discovered that no provision has been made for the members to be paid any kind of personal allowance whatsoever. The only provision made in the budget is for Five Hundred Thousand Naira per State to cover the logistics of the entire Committee which would be used to move around the States, collate the names, buy stationeries and compile the names in printed form in all the Local Government Areas to forward to us in Abuja. Note that it is N500,000 for the entire Committees, not for individual members. If this is not patriotic service, I do not know what is.

    CAN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CIRCUMSCRIBE OR QUESTION THE DISCRETION OF THE MINISTER TO ESTABLISH THESE COMMITTEES?

    (9) My simple answer is NO. Once a person who is given discretionary powers by law exercises that discretion in a particular way, it is impossible to question the exercise of that discretion if it is done within the confines of the law. An example is the power of the President to appoint at least one Minister from each State. As long as the President does not go outside a particular State to pick a Minister for that State, nobody can question his discretion in picking a particular person as Minister from that State. Therefore, even Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution cannot avail the Joint Committee the power to question the discretion of the Minister to constitute Committees for the NDE under Section 16(1) of the NDE Act.

    WHY STATES’ SELECTION COMMITTEES INSTEAD OF ONLINE APPLICATIONS

    (10) The reasons are: (a) the categories of those to be engaged (which are largely unskilled workers) will not have the capacity and access to make online applications. (b) online applications would not ensure that the 1,000 persons to be selected would come from each Local Government Areas as, for example 300 persons may apply online from Lagos State, claiming to be applying to work in Sokoto State. (c) the selection process would be localized and would absolve us in Abuja the responsibility of selecting persons from different States.

    SLOTS TO POLITICAL OFFICE HOLDERS:

    (11) However, in the spirit of transparency and because of the need to be honest before Nigerians, we have said before that we are not unmindful of the fact that political office holders are also representatives of the people. We cannot also totally ignore them in the selection process. Their Constituents are also Nigerians. What we have tried to resist is A TOTAL TAKEOVER OF THE PROGRAMME BY POLITICIANS AND POLITICAL ACTORS, hence the multi-sectorial composition of the States’ Selection Committees.

    (12) As a result, the States’ Selection Committees have been instructed to allot to political office holders like our distinguished Senators, Honourable members, Ministers and Governors, a number in total not exceeding fifteen percent of the total beneficiaries in that State. This is to ensure that majority of Nigerians who do not belong to any of the political divides actually benefit substantially from this programme.

    (13) The actual break down of these numbers between the office holders have been communicated to the States’ Selection Committees. But if I understood Hon. Muhammad Wudil very well during his interview on HARD COPY on Channels Television, he alluded to the fact that he is uncomfortable with the fact that Ministers got a certain number of slots (30) from all the Local Government Areas in a State, whilst he as a Member of the House of Representatives got slots from only the Local Government Areas within his Constituency. But he should remember that there is only one Minister in almost all the States (except a few that have two), whilst a State like Kano where he comes from has 24 members of the House of Representatives. If those 24 members each takes slots from all the Local Government Areas available, there will be nothing left again for everyday people to share.

    (13a). Finally on this point, suffice to say that those persons to be recommended for engagement by political office holders that constitute the 15 percent so mentioned, must also be eligible persons to participate in this programme.

    APPROVAL OF SELECT BANKS:

    (14) I am also pleased to inform you that for the purpose of transparency and accountability in the process, the President approved the use of select banks to register and collate data of those to be engaged. The banks would open accounts for all beneficiaries and in the process obtain BVN for those without accounts. Consequently, all payments would be made from the CBN directly to the accounts of the beneficiaries. The banks will also simultaneously register the participants of the Special Works Programme. Apart from the transparency and accountability this will achieve, one of the benefits of the exercise is that more Nigerians would be captured in the financial system thereby enhancing the financial inclusion drive of Government. Eventually, the data collated by the banks would be passed on to us for use in the programme implementation.

    (15) It is important to note that this data to be collated would be used for other multifarious purposes relating to employment and social surveys. Already the National Bureau of Statistics, the National Population Commission and other Federal Government Agencies have requested for an allotment of persons from the 1,000 persons in each Local Government Areas to carry out special social surveys and data collation.

    MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROJECTS:

    (16) For the ease of supervision and monitoring of such a large programme, the President approved the deployment of online technology to effectively supervise, track and monitor the entire process.

    (17) As a result, a domain name for an interactive website and online backend activities for the programme, www.specialpublicworks.gov.ng has been established.

    (18) A database containing the 774,000 participants and all the public works projects would be established. A final clean copy of the database of
    persons to be engaged would be delivered to us by the Banks we engaged to register and open accounts for them.

    (19) The website with an analytics dashboard will provide the level of work done on projects on a daily basis. It will also contain a robust feedback mechanism that will allow citizens provide independent assessment on projects.

    (20) Project owners and communities where projects are situated will also provide feedback through an online channel to our backend using their mobile devices.

    (21) Using technology, we will geotag projects and deploy public works project management software to judiciously allocate human resources to projects.

    (22) This various deployment will enable us supervise, track and monitor the programme effectively in accordance with Mr. President’s directive.

    DURATION OF PROGRAMME

    (23) The programme starts on the 1st of October, 2020. However, we are already running out of time because before October 1, 2020, we still have to select the 774,000 Nigerians, register them, open bank accounts for them and obtain their BVNs. Hence the urgency to proceed with preparations.

    HOW MUCH IS THIS PROGRAMME WORTH?

    (24).​ The total sum of N52 billion has been appropriated for this programme. Out of this amount, the sum of N46.44 billion is for actual payment of the stipends of those to be engaged. They will paid through BVN, hence eliminating the possibility of fraud in the payment scheme. The balance of N5.56 billion is for the purchase of tools and light equipment, the transportation, storage and security of these equipment in all the 774 LGAs in the country. That is approximately the sum of N7.183 million per LGA for the three-month period. The procurement of these items can only done by the National Directorate of Employment, complying with strict procurement guidelines in the Public Procurement Act.

    WHAT SHOULD NIGERIANS EXPECT FROM THIS PROGRAMME?

    (25).​At the end of the programme, we would have selected and engaged 774,000 Nigerians in a transparent process, adequately supervised and monitored them and paid N60,000.00 each for services rendered. Nigerians should also expect an improvement in physical and environmental infrastructure nation- wide.

    CONCLUSION:

    (26) I hereby respectfully make these above submissions, whilst at the same time I am ready, willing and anxious to clarify any grey area in the work plan PUBLICLY when I appear before you. As this is not an investigative hearing, I assume that you would properly inform me if you
    want to do any of such and give me the full rights of fair hearing (including giving me the opportunity to confront any witness) as provided for in section 36 of the 1999 Constitution before reaching a decision that may affect my civil rights or obligations. It is only a full investigative hearing that can lead to your “exposing corruption, inefficiency or waste” in the execution of any government programme. An “Interactive Session” cannot lead to such since that is not within the contemplation of Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution.

    I thank you all.

    FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN, FCIArb (UK)
    Honourable Minister of State.