By Emeka Nze
Abuja
Participants in the federal government’s entrepreneurship programme, YOUWIN, have given the Ministry of Finance fourteen days ultimatum to pay inspected awardees or face mass protest on April 13, 2017.
The participants accused the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosu, of discriminating against 10 participants of the programme from the north and seeking to suspend payment to some of the beneficiaries.
According to the participants, the Minister of Finance had erroneously alleged that beneficiaries of the programme numbering ten including the son of a Director of Minister of Finance have been corruptly selected.
In a statement yesterday signed by the coordinator, Adindu Hans, the group alleged that after paying almost all awardees from the south the minister is now seeking to suspend payments of awardees mostly from the North on account of just 10 people out of 1,500.
The statement read in part: “We call on the minister to quickly pay North West awardees that have been inspected and approved within 14 days or face mass protest on 13th of April 2017. Our businesses are facing imminent collapse and we cannot allow FMF to destroy our businesses on account of phantom allegations.
“Our businesses are facing imminent collapse and we cannot allow FMF to destroy our businesses on account of phantom allegations.
It further read: “We consider the action of the Federal Ministry of Finance baseless, discriminatory and prejudicial. We call on the minister to quickly pay North-west awardees that have been inspected and approved within 14 day or face mass protest on 13th of April 2017.
“The Youwin Programme remains the best youth focused entrepreneurship scheme in the country that has produced more than 3,900 youth led businesses and have created over 22,000 jobs. It was a business plan competition and not a poverty alleviation programme.
“The programme has been validated by the World Bank and adjudged to be very effective and was successful.”
