TheCable

Festus Keyamo, minister of state, labour and employment, has raised the alarm over fake web portals for recruitment into the special public works programme.

On Monday, Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, announced that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the engagement of 774,000 Nigerians on the programme.

After the announcement, there were different messages on social media on how interested applicants could be part of the programme.

But in a statement on Friday, Keyamo asked the public to disregard the information circulating on the internet, as the government is still working on modalities for the scheme.

“My attention has been drawn to a certain advertorial circulating on Social Media tilted ‘Application Opens For 774,000 Employment By FG: See Requirements, Salary And How To Apply’,” Keyamo said.

“As the Supervising Minister over the National Directorate of Employment in which the Special Public Works Programme of the Federal Government is domiciled, and having conferred with the Director-General, Dr. Nasiru Ladan Mohammed Argungu, we wish to alert members of the public that the said advertorial or anything of such presently circulating is fake and should be disregarded.

“I have just finished consultation with the Hon. Minister of Finance and we are presently working out how the scope of the program would be expanded and executed with other relevant Ministries and stakeholders across the country.

“The public would be duly informed by this office when all the modalities have been graciously approved by Mr. President.

“We are also informed of instructions by certain persons going round in some States to the effect that names of those to be employed under the program should be compiled. We also urge these people not to embark on an exercise in futility as the guidelines for such recruitment and those to be involved have not been released by the agency.”