The Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, FESTUS KEYAMO, says over 400 thousand Nigerians have received 60,000 naira as part of the Special Public Works Programme launched in 2021 by the Federal Government.

FESTUS KEYAMO who made this disclosure at the weekly Ministerial Media Chat at the Statehouse said the scheme which is aimed at empowering Nigerians and cushioning the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen 413,630 persons paid 60,000 naira each.

He said in total 24.817 billion naira has been distributed to Nigerians so far, adding that an extension might be requested to meet a target of 500 thousand persons for the first phase of the program.

The minister stressed that the program has been conducted across the 774 local governments, however, he noted that government initiatives of this nature can regrettably be hijacked by political leaders at the state levels and for this reason, some resistance was encountered.