APC Senators Rejects Proposal To Pay Unemployed Youth N5, 000 Monthly

Senate Rejects Proposal To Pay Unemployed
Youth N5, 000 Monthly



The Senate on Wednesday rejected a motion for
the payment of N5, 000 monthly allowance to
unemployed youths in the country.
The motion was sponsored by Philip Aduda
(PDP, FCT) but was greeted with shouts of “no,
no” when he tried to explain it.
Attempts by the Minority Leader, Godswill
Akpabio, to second the motion were disrupted by
the rowdiness.
Intervening, President of the Senate, Bukola
Saraki, posed the question but the senators
responded along party lines.
While Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members
yelled ‘’aye’’ in favour of the motion, All
Progressives Congress (APC) senators, who were
in majority, rejected it.
However, a motion calling for the probe of the
utilisation of Subsidy Reinvestment and
Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) funds by
the immediate past administration was adopted
by the senators.
The sponsor of the motion, Babajide Omoworare,
prayed that every naira spent by the past
government on SURE-P and other poverty
alleviation programmes should be accounted for.
When the president of the Senate put the
question, it was supported with a loud “aye” from
the APC wing of the chamber, with no dissenting
voice from the PDP side.
In his remarks, Mr. Saraki urged the senators to
take the issue of unemployment very seriously
and not play politics with it.
“We should stay above party line on this issue
that is so important. We have seen growth in the
last years but this has not translated to
employment.
“Government alone cannot do it; the private
sector has a role to play and the enabling
environment must be created,” he said.
PDP leaders have lately called on President
Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling APC to fulfil
their campaign promise of paying N5, 000 to
unemployed Nigerian youth.
The motion on Wednesday is believed to have
been part of that call.
NAN.