LAGOS: The Nigeria Customs Service has denied reports Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Dikko Inde Abdullahi, is against the payment of stipends to unemployed youth.
Wale Adeniyi, Customs Public Relations Officer, said Abdullahi was misquoted in the report a daily newspaper carried on Wednesday.
“The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to a story 5 which is represented the Comptroller General (GC) of Customs, Dikko Inde Abdullahi as having criticised the Federal Government’s plan to pay a monthly stipend of N5 000 to unemployed Nigerian Youths,” said Adeniyi.
“The Comptroller-General was quoted out of context and grossly misrepresented hence the need to make clarification in the interest of those who may have been misinformed.
“The CGC never criticised the proposed stipend payment as recently announced by His Excellency, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.”
On the pervasive poverty ravaging the country, Osinbajo said the payment of N5 000 each to poor Nigerians was necessary because “we cannot talk about the economy of the future without addressing how we move people out of poverty.
Announcing plans to pay stipends to youth, Osinbajo said the move would address rampant poverty.
“Contrary to what was reported, the Comptroller General welcomed the idea as a medium term strategy with the ultimate goal of encouraging our youth to embrace the production sector.”
