One of the itinerant workers engaged under the Special Public Works Programme has lamented the lack of payment of his stipends three months after completing the contract.
In the Kubwa Bwari area of the FCT, the young man said he was one of the contract workers engaged for the programme chaired by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo.
In January this year, recall that the Federal Government had flagged off the 774,000 jobs, with each participant expected to receive N20,000 for the three months of the contract.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari in March approved the release of funds for the payment of itinerant workers.
Keyamo, on the other hand, claimed he had directed the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), to commence the processing of payments for the workers engaged in the 774 local government areas.
Keyamo, in his verified Twitter handle, wrote: "President Muhammadu Buhari has graciously directed a release of the funds for the payment of stipends to the 774,000 participants of the SPW programme.
"I have consequently directed the NDE to begin processing the payments and participants should begin to receive payments soon.
"To eliminate fraud and double payments, I have also directed that every payment to participants should be made using the BVN of their accounts so we can have an audit trail of every single payment. Those who registered with different names shouldn't expect payments."
But, in an interview with SaharaReporters on Saturday, the young man, who pleaded anonymity, said he had yet to be paid for the three months of community service he rendered. He also stated that no memo or any other information was issued to explain the delay in payment.
He said, "I was employed under the programme and the contract was to last for three months which expired in April. It was a federal government job, so we had no doubts about payment; we were so confident that we would be paid, but now, we are yet to be paid even a dime for the job we did.
"I was engaged in Community Service, cleaning the environment and all. The contract expired in April but no payment, especially for those of us here in Abuja, Bwari local council. I have a friend in another part of Abuja here who was paid N20 000, a month's stipend but since then, he has not been paid for another month. We would like to know what is wrong at least."
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