Hon. Rufus Bature



By Daniel Dauda, Jos


Honourable Rufus Bature, the Plateau State Chairman committee on Federal Government 774,000 jobs for unemployed youths and women stated that he has been vindicated as the implementation of the programme come to reality in Plateau.

You would recall sometimes last year 2020, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the office of minister of state Labour and employment, Festus keyamo, SAN, make a pronouncement that government will engaged about 774,000 unemployed youths and women across the 774 Local Government Areas of the federation to address poverty.

 Rufus Bature, former Secretary to the Government of Plateau State, SGS, said the process started since August 2020, in which some Youths think the programme will not come to fruition. 

He applauded Governor Simon Lalong's enthusiastic about youth and women initiative as Plateau became the forth pilot state to kick started the programme across Nigeria.

He also expressed confidence that the programme will go a long way in improving the livelihood of populace and internally generated revenue(IGR) of the state, nothing that the selection of participants was done based on merit.


While flagging the extended special public works programme(774,000jobs), held on Friday in Jos, Governor Simon Lalong  said without doubt, this is a great initiative that further demonstrates the determination of the APC-led Federal Government as well as the APC controlled States to tackle headlong the challenge of unemployment in the country.

"That is why the President approved that the initiative be carried out as a way of creating massive jobs at the lowest tier of the economy by maintaining critical public and social infrastructure at the rural base of the economy.

"I have been made to understand that the programme is designed to mitigate lack of job opportunities in the rural areas through a short-term engagement of One thousand unemployed persons per Local Government Area for a period of three months", he stated.

The Governor who was represented by the Commissioner of Environment, Hon. Usman Idi, charged participants to be a good Ambassadors of Plateau.

However, National Directorate for Employment(NDE), who are partner said NDE was promulgated by decree No 29 of the 1989 law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. One of the primary mandates of the NDE is to design implement programs to combat mass unemployment.

Director General of NDE, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, represented by former Commissioner of Agriculture Plateau State, Linda Barau, revealed that the NDE is to implement the 774,000 jobs under an expanded special public works programme in all the 774 Local Government Areas nationwide.


They will be engaging 1000 unemployed persons per Local Government for a period of three months, as the participants will be paid an allowance of N20,000 monthly and starter packs were also been given to them.

Therefore, the participants will engaged in; drainage, digging and clearance, irrigation canals clearance, earth dam,rural feeder roads and maintenance, Traffic control, vegetable control along the Federal  highways,street clearing/solar street light panel maintenance, clearance of public infrastructure like health center, schools and the likes, maintenance of the great green Wall nurseries and orchards as well as maintenance/rehabilitation of public infrastructure and so on.