The Senate Tuesday reiterated its earlier position that the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) is the agency mandated by law to implement the 774,000 jobs for which N52 billion was appropriated for in the N10.8 trillion revised 2020 budget.
It insisted that the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, lacked legal powers to preside over the Special Public Works Programme.
These were sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central).
Bamidele in the motion called on the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly to carry out oversight functions on the project, ensure that the agency saddled with the responsibility in the already passed and signed budget is the one focused upon.
“A signed budget is a law that must be respected by those implementing its provisions and those oversighting them; the very reason the 774,000 jobs must be seen and confirmed to be implemented by NDE and nobody else,” he said.
Virtually all the senators who contributed to debate on the motion supported it by declaring that anything contrary to that would amount to illegality.
According to them, only the NDE had the statutory powers to coordinate employment programmes in Nigeria.
The Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, had announced last week he received the presidential nod to commence the recruitment process for the programme.
Following that pronouncement, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, visited President Buhari to discuss and arrive at a common position.