Nigeria, July 14 -- The federal government has announced the commencement of the Special Public Works Programme aimed at employing 774,000 citizens, a thousand from each of the 774 local government areas in the country.

The announcement was made via its official Twitter handle on Tuesday.

"The Special Public Works Programme of the Federal Government has kicked off nationwide. The State Selection Committees have been inaugurated and have commenced work," it said.

The announcement comes amidst a row between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Assembly on how the programme should proceed. It also comes about a week after the National Assembly asked that the programme be suspended.

Two weeks ago, the Minister of State f...