N-Power: Minister speaks on how to pay March stipends

Emmanuel AmudaApril 14, 2020

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The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, on Tuesday, April 14, has said that enrollees under the N-Power programme of the federal government will start receiving payments of their outstanding monthly allowance from Tuesday.

Recall that Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, has been fired over her common attitude for delaying N-Power beneficiaries’ payment of their stipends since she took over the scheme from Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

The 500,000 N-Power enrollees across the country have been clamouring for their payment, which was delayed due to the overhauling of the process of payment by the ministry.

The assurance of their payment came after the Minister signed the payment mandate in line with the rules guiding the federal government’s public financial expenditure.

N-Power Programme is a job creation and skills empowerment programme of the Federal Government designed to help young Nigerians acquire and develop life-long skills to become practical solution providers in their communities, enabling them to become innovative players in the domestic and global markets.

The programme is for young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35 paid N30,000 monthly allowance

Enrolled participants are expected to exit the programme after every 24 months to be replaced by another set of youths drawn from across the country.

A statement in Abuja on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media, Salisu Dambatta explained that the institutionalization of the programme under the ministry entails that payments for N-Power participants or their enrolment must be through transparent processes in line with the relevant rules to ensure accountability.

The statement reads: “Those responsible for processing the payment must do it in conformity with the necessary rules and regulations to ensure accountability.

“Now that the rules were followed strictly and the process concluded, I was given the assurance that they will start receiving credit alerts from their banks today, Tuesday, April 14, 2020,”

She added that her ministry will alongside other relevant partners drive the overhauling process to ensure that the expected benefits of the NSIPs are realised in full.