Chairman and Coordinator of the State Implementation Committee of the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme (SURE-P) in Ekiti State, Rt. Hon. Femi Akinyemi has assured beneficiaries of the Community Services, Youths and Women Employment Scheme the Ekiti State of the payment of their monthly stipend.
Akinyemi, who gave this assurance during the SURE-P Stakeholders meeting in the three Senatorial Districts of Ekiti State yesterday, said; “President Goodluck Jonathan is a promise keeper, who will never go back on his promises and on this SURE-P programme, all entitlements of our beneficiaries will be paid.”
He described as untrue, rumour that the Federal Government no longer have fund to pay the beneficiaries, saying; “adequate fund had already been made in the 2014 Budget for the SURE-P programme.”
Participants at the Stakeholders meeting that was held in Ikere, Ido and Ado Ekiti, included members of Community Development Committees (CDAs), 16 Local Government Desk Officers of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), 177 Ward Supervisors of the Community Services, Youths and Women Employment Scheme among others.
The meeting, which was coordinated by the three Senatorial Coordinators of the programme, Mrs. Tosin Aluko (Central), Hon. Kayode Ogunsakin (South) and Hon. Dare Olaosebikan (North), and the State Director of NDE, Mrs Shafaru Adeola, was to sensitise the 3,000 beneficiaries of the Community Services, Youths and Women Employment Scheme on the SURE-P exit strategies, which include vocational training of the beneficiaries.
“The Federal Government wants to train the beneficiaries before the end of the one year so that by the time they exit from the programme, they will have something doing.
“Already, 24 of the beneficiaries have undergone two-weeks training, as a prelude to their empowerment by the Federal Government.
“About 1,000 youths from the 36 States of the federation and the FCT benefited from the training in various entrepreneur skills that took place in the six zones of the country.
“The beneficiaries are to be empowered to start their own trade so that they can be self-reliant and also become employers of labour and there is assurance that the second batch will be selected very soon,” Akinyemi said.
