Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State.

The Katsina State government has released N400 million for the payment of monthly stipends to 5,000 youths engaged in the newly introduced state-power programme tagged “S-Power”.

Youths engaged in the programme, mostly holders of Nigeria Certificate of Education (NCE) and Diploma in Education certificates, have been deployed to primary schools to reduce manpower shortage there.

Gov Aminu Masari, while inaugurating the programme in July 2018, had said that it was aimed at reducing redundancy and indolence among youths.

Malam Lawal Buhari, Executive Chairman, Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), who spoke on the scheme in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Daura, said that the participants would be paid the four months stipend they were owed.

“Each of the participants will receive N80,000 for the four months; the monthly stipend is N20,000 as indicated in their letters of engagement,” he said.

He explained that payment would be at selected local education authority offices, adding that the 34 local governments had been divided into 12 centres for that purpose.

Buhari said that the state government had approved the engagement of additional 2,000 degree holders into the programme, to complement the teaching manpower in senior secondary schools.

“Those in that category will be supervised by the ministry of education,” he said, adding that the recruitment exercise would soon begin.