130,000 New Jobs Created Under Sure-P

Deputy Chairman of the Subsidy Re- investment Programme, SURE-P Fund, Gen. Martin Agwai (Rtd) has said that the Federal Government has created 130, 000 new jobs under the programme since its inauguration in February 2012. Speaking in Kaduna today at a workshop organised by the National Planning Commisssion (NPC), with the theme “Developing Performance Management Plan for SURE-P Project Implementation Units,” Agwai, represented by the Fund’s Operations coordinator, Alhaji Ali Fatoma explained that 111, 000 jobs were created under the community service scheme and another 6, 000 under the maternal and child healthcare programme. He added that 10,000 unskilled workers and 2,400 skilled workers were employed under the Public Works/FERMA programme, while 700 primary healthcare centres were rehabilitated across the country. Agwai disclosed that the Sure-P fund was used to rehabilitate the western railway line linking Lagos-Kano route, and the 87 kilometre East-West road connecting Warri-Kaiama. “Others that are ongoing include the 338 km Ahoada – Port Harcourt – Eket, terminating at Oron in Akwa Ibom, 296 km Benin-Shagamu road, 204 km Onitsha – Enugu, the 200 km Abuja – Lokoja and the 510 km Kano- Maiduguri road.” He said the workshop was aimed at ensuring better performance in the utilisation of the SURE-P fund by the beneficiaries. “Today’s gathering is just to monitor and evaluate what has been done so far. “And with all this, a target has been set and deliverables are been identified and without monitoring and evaluation that cannot be achieved.” According to him, no new road project had been awarded, stressing that the emphasis was on the completion of existing ongoing road projects. “The money is constant, everybody knows, the contractor knows and the public knows what comes to SURE-P, money is now waiting for contractors, unlike before, when contractors will work and wait for money. “So the challenge is for the contractors to perform and increase their capacity to really access the funds in order to deliver the roads.” Agwai also spoke on the funds allegedly missing in running the programme. “The 41 per cent, which comes to the federal government is managed by SURE-P committee. “Our system is that every month, N15 billion comes to SURE-P, and in 12 months if you multiply that by N15 billion, is N180 billion. “So since inception to date that is what we have been managing, we appropriate this, and manage the funds and also give out to the stakeholders and we have four or five ministries that we are dealing with,” he said.