The Ministry of Youth Development has said the Junior Professionals Officers programme received only N72.3 million in 2013 as against the N1.1 bn that was budgeted.
A non-profit organisation, YouthubAfrica had accused the ministry of mismanaging N2.1 bn budgeted for the programme which was meant to empower Nigerian youths.
But the ministry, in a statement by its spokesman, Tolu Makinde, on Wednesday in Abuja, stated that the N72.3m was spent on participation of officials at the 9th meeting of the United Nations Development Programme donor countries in Sweden.
It also said the ministry also expended the money on development of e-recruitment portal, public announcements and adverts, among other things.
The ministry explained that in 2014, the sum of N115 mn was released for the programme, out of which N93.6m was remitted as seed money for the JPO programme to the UNDP through the Central Bank of Nigeria.
It stated that the balance of N22m was spent on facility visit by ministry officials to Denmark, advert in the media for extension of deadline on submission of applications, traveling expenses and allied matters for overseas coordinators and officers involved in electronic sorting and selection process.
The statement reads,”While it is true that provision was made for N1.1 bn and N1bn as quoted by the NGO for the JPO Programme in 2013 and 2014 budget approximations respectively, it is important to note that the amount was not only for the programme alone but also for the ministry’s main Youth Empowerment Programme, through which thousands of youths are expected to be trained annually.
“Against this background, it is to be noted that the actual amount released for the UNDP/JPO in 2013 was N72.3m which was spent on various activities.”
It denied that the programme had been abandoned.
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