The Federal Government is set to engage 11, 000 persons for the Extended Special Public Works Programme in Gombe State.
Mrs Abigail Albashi, the chairperson of the programme in the state, made this known on Monday while inaugurating the committee members.
She said that the special works programme was designed to mitigate the lack of job opportunities in rural and sub urban areas through a short term engagement of 1, 000 unemployed persons per Local Government Area for a period of three months.
Albashi said out of the 1, 000 persons in each of the LGAs, 200 would be graduates.
The chairperson said that beneficiaries of the programme would be receiving N20, 000 as allowance monthly.
According to her, the participants would be engaged in active community related services that are peculiar to their LGAs such as drainage digging and clearance, irrigation, canals clearing, rural feeder road maintenance and traffic control.
Others are street cleaning, cleaning of public infrastructure like health centres, schools and the likes.
She said each of the LGAs need to tailor its programme to meet the needs and expectations of the area.
Albashi said the programme would begin from Oct. 1 to December.
She said the programme may be extended every year, depending on the success recorded and how buoyant the Federal Government purse was.
Albashi charged the committee members to ensure that the task was taken seriously with patriotism.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that apart from the main committee, five subcommittees were inaugurated to ensure smooth and faster implementation of the programme.
The committees were as follows, Government/Liaison, Traditional Institution, Information and Publicity, Women and Civil Society.
In his remark, the special guest, Governor Inuwa Yahaya charged the committee members to exhibit high level of transparency and integrity while carrying out the assignment.
Represented by Commissioner of Youth and Sport, Julius Ishaya, the governor said the government was aware of the level of unemployment and ravaging effect of COVID-19 in the state, adding that the programme was timely.
He expressed confidence in the committee following the calibre of persons nominated as members.
