The Federal Government has promised to pay N-Power beneficiaries their withheld eight-month allowances.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government had suspended the N-Power programme last week, stating that the scheme had ghost beneficiaries, while some of its consultants were withholding participants’ funds.
This was revealed by the N-Power National Programme Manager, Akindele Egbuwalo, who confirmed this, adding that the affected persons are beneficiaries of the Batch C programme who had been owed for eight months.
The Federal Government had suspended the N-Power programme last week, stating that the scheme had ghost beneficiaries, while some of its consultants were withholding participants’ funds.
The N-Power programme was established by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to address youth unemployment with beneficiaries paid N30,000 monthly stipend.
Akindele, in a statement, noted that the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation had recovered some funds.
At the meeting held with representatives of the N-Power beneficiaries, he said: “The good news is that the funds have been recovered and you will be getting your money soon. Payment for N-Power Beneficiaries Batch C who have been owed for eight months will begin soon.”
Akindele revealed that the Minister of Humanitarian affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, was able to address irregularities within the Program and other social investment programmes.
He said, “These irregularities have made the common man to lose faith in the ability of Government to provide social safety cover for its population but Dr Betta Edu is engaging all necessary steps to resolve these issues and deliver the Renewed Hope Mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Nigerians
“Many irregularities which hitherto had sabotaged the smooth implementation of the Program are being addressed.
“It would be recalled that on assumption of duty it was noted that many beneficiaries did not receive payment for their monthly allowances while monies were been held up by the consultant managing the enrollment and payment system whose contract had long expired.”
This is coming barely two months after The Batch “C” of N-Power beneficiaries wrote to Tinubu to call for his urgent intervention as they lamented that they had not been paid their stipends for the past eight months.
The N-Power batch “C” beneficiaries in the letter written by their National Publicity Secretary, Gbadebo Adesiyan, said that the nonpayment of the stipends had caused immense distress, inconveniences and hardship to millions of unemployed Nigerian graduates captured under the scheme.
According to Adesiyan, they were told that the delay on the payment of their stipends was because funds for the said unpaid months had not been approved or disbursed into the National Social Investment Management System (NASIMS) account by the presidency.