Mixed reactions trail N5,000 stipends for jobless youths

Arecent statement by the Minister of Youths and Sport, Mr. Solomon Dalung, on the payment of the N5, 000 stipends to the unemployed Nigerians, is drawing mixed reactions.

During the campaigns for the 2015 general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari, who was the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, had promised to pay the sum of N5, 000 to every unemployed youth in the country if elected.

Many students of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State, have voiced their opinions on the matter. While some were in support of the government on the ground that the gesture would reduce poverty, others kicked against it, saying it would promote laziness. A 300-level student of

Department of Public

the Administration, Alabi Oluwatosin Mary, expressed displeasure over the decision. She said government should create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths rather than pay them monies for doing nothing. She appealed to the present administration to resuscitate the comatose industries in many parts of the country, with a view to creating more jobs.

But another student from the same department said the decision to pay unemployed youths in the county would certainly bring good results.

Also speaking, another student of the institution, Victor Nwafor, said the federal government should train jobless people on various skills and employ them. A senior lecturer in the Department of Office and Technology Management, Mr. John Smith Oghomwen, appealed to the federal government to, as a matter of priority, tackle rising unemployment and sluggish economic growth.

The lecturer also urged the Minister of Youths and Sport to intensify efforts at strengthening entrepreneurship skills and ensure adequate supply of training facilities.

Rose, HND2, Polytechnic, Bida

Federal