The Head of the Oyo State Labour Intensive Public Workfare Beneficiaries (OYS-CARES LIPW), otherwise known as OYO-CARES, Mr Sangogade Olusumbo, has disclosed that the youth employed for four months under the programme has started work and they shall be paid N10,000 monthly.
OSY-CARES LIPW is a programme under the Nigeria Cares operation to provide for jobless youth in the state.
According to a statement signed by the commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatubosun, the first batch of the programme selected from 18 local government areas of the state has been deployed to their different communities to carry out public works activities.
The youths, who started working in May 2022, would be paid a monthly stipend of N10,000 for four hours per day and twenty days per month of work in the areas of grass cutting, filling of potholes, clearing of drainages, sweeping of dirty environment, collection and disposal of refuse and traffic control at major public institutions like community halls, hospitals, courts among others.
Olusumbo, while monitoring the activities of some beneficiaries within the Ibadan metropolis today, said the local government areas where the beneficiaries were deployed include Ibadan North East, Ibadan North West, Egbeda, Ibarapa Central, Ibarapa East, Ibarapa North, Ido, Irepo, Iwajowa, and Kajola local government areas.
Others, according to him, are Ogo-Oluwa, Olorunsogo, Oluyole, Oriire, Saki East and Surulere local government areas, where the local government Community Development Officer would keep up the daily monitoring of the beneficiaries at their respective duty posts.
The programme was designed to ameliorate the effects of Covid-19 on the economy and the people, as many businesses were adversely affected by the pandemic, which led to the loss of jobs and earnings by young Nigerians.
Sangogade hinted that the Oyo State Government bought into the idea to further empower the youths to contribute to the development of their communities while being paid a stipend to show appreciation for their efforts monthly.
He said, “This effort is another area where the state government, through the Federal Government and the World Bank, has co-opted the youths who might have been idle in these communities and the beneficiaries will contribute towards maintaining a hygienic environment while ensuring traffic sanity, especially in the major metropolis. The office has a system of monitoring the beneficiaries so that they will do their expected rounds daily within the specified time apart from the routine monitoring by our office from Ibadan. Each local government Community Development Officer is also saddled with the responsibility of going around these beats to monitor beneficiaries doing their public works.”
He added that other local government areas that were yet to benefit from the programme would soon get the same opportunity as soon as funds are made available for a selection of beneficiaries and their deployment.
