N5,000 job seekers allowance: Imo, Nasarawa govs differ on President’s stand

Governors of Nasarawa and Imo states, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura and Rochas Okorocha, yesterday differed on the President’s decision to renege on a campaign promise to pay N5,000 stipend to unemployed graduates in Nigeria.

While Al-Makura believes that the President reserves the right to review his campaign promises, Okorocha said the President’s laudable idea of catering to unemployed Nigerian graduates would be done one way or the other in the long run.

President Muhammadu Buhari had at the weekend while speaking in Qatar, said he would rather fix the infrastructure, agriculture as well as the mining sectors of the economy rather than hand out N5,000 largesse to the unemployed. This he said would enable the youth to get jobs.

Speaking with journalists at the State House Abuja after meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Al-Makura said “the president is the person that can tell you precisely how he is working on promises and interventions that he has created by his Ingenuity. And if at any point in time the president is reviewing that issue, I think he is the only person to do that because what he is doing is in the best interest of the country. And so, it is not challengeable by anybody whatever his position”.

However, Imo State Governor who was also at the Villa to see lauded the idea of taking care of those who have no jobs said the issue of exchanging physical cash has its own challenges. He added that physical cash creates more problems.

“To be honest with you, it is a great idea, but there are many ways to give that support.

“Sometimes it could be in cash which has its own challenges. Handling of that is also in itself a wonderful and great idea.

“Take for instance, in Imo State, they used to do what they called empowerment. They buy motorcycles and give people N5,000 or N10,000, for me that is not my style.

“My style is to declare free education, from primary, secondary to university. Nobody pays one naira in Imo state.

“The very poor people who have to ensure a lot of social inconveniences of school fees are no longer dong that. What has happened is that she has saved that money to produce further wealth.

“So if you keep money through that system, it creates more impact than physical cash. Physical cash sometimes creates more problems, so it is a great idea, we have to do it one way or the other as time comes” Okorocha said.

Okorocha also spoke on the ongoing anti-graft war in the country stating that the case of taking money out of the country was the worst crime ever. He added that though the President was receiving support for the anti-graft war, the one major challenge remained the legal process.

Al-Makura said at the meeting the Vice President, they discussed the security situation in his state and that of Benue State which had led to bloody clashes between herdsmen and farmers. He said he made demands for power and energy for domestic and industrial purposes for the state adding that the state was in a deprived state.

Elizabeth Archibong