774,000 Jobs: PDP Raises Alarm Over Plans By APC Godfathers To Hijack Programme

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as illegal and Anti-people the method deployed by the federal government in allocating the 774,000 jobs.

The party alleged that stalwarts of the All Progressives Congress have hijack the 774, 000 jobs under the federal government’s Special Works Programme, SPW.

The opposition party levelled the allegation in a statement on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.

PDP alleged that political godfathers in the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government have taken over the allocation of 774,000 jobs to those associated with political office holders instead of all Nigerians.

Ologbondiyan said the process used put unemployed Nigerians who have no Godfather or belong to any party at disadvantage.

Ologbondiyan said “While our party is not against the creation of job opportunities to Nigerians, we reject this crafty political allocation, which is a direct exclusion of hardworking Nigerians from opportunities that should have been open to them under an open and transparent process.

“The PDP rejects a situation where, in each local government area, 800 slots of the 1000 jobs have already been pencilled off to political cronies while the remaining 200 openings are thrown open for contest to the public, which also include politically affiliated persons.

Also Read: 774,000 Jobs: I’m Not Answerable To You, Keyamo Tells N’assembly

“Such brash violation of the principle of fairness and equal opportunity by the APC and its administration, is a direct invitation to restiveness and acrimony in the country and as such, should be immediately rescinded in the national interest.

“This is especially given allegations already in the public space that the resort to political allocation of jobs is designed by selfish APC leaders to corner the opportunities for selfish pecuniary reasons.

“Consequently, our party charges the Federal Government to rescind the resort to political allocation and only engage Nigerians through an open, transparent and all-inclusive process in the allocation of the 774,000 jobs.”

Recall that Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, had recently alleged that the programme was for all Nigerians and not for APC members alone.

Also, Keyamo had accused some politicians of blackmailing and pressuring him into getting slots in the 774,000 jobs approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.