The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has announced the temporary suspension of the N-Power programme, a social intervention scheme that provides stipends and skills to unemployed youths in Nigeria.
The Minister said the suspension was to allow for a thorough audit and restructuring of the programme, which has been running since 2016.
She said the audit would determine the actual number of beneficiaries, the amount of funds disbursed, and the level of compliance with the programme’s guidelines.
She disclosed that the federal government has discovered some irregularities and anomalies in the programme, such as beneficiaries who have exited the scheme but are still receiving payments, beneficiaries who have other jobs but are still on the payroll, and consultants who are withholding funds meant for beneficiaries.
She added that some beneficiaries have not been reporting to their places of primary assignment as required, while some have not been paid for several months due to various reasons.
The Minister said the suspension would enable the government to address these issues and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the programme.
She said the government would also review the age limit for beneficiaries from 35 to 40 years, to accommodate more youths who need the intervention.
The Minister appealed to Nigerians, especially the beneficiaries, to be patient and supportive of the government’s decision, assuring them that the suspension was in their best interest and that of the nation.
She said the government remains committed to empowering Nigerian youths and alleviating poverty through various social intervention programmes.
“It is imperative to inform Nigerians, particularly beneficiaries of the N-Power programme across the country, of the temporary suspension of the programme.
“This action has become necessary to give room for a detailed investigation into the operations of the N-Power in the last twelve months.
“The total number of persons enrolled on NPOWER since inception to date is 960,000 people. Most of them have exited from NPower 1.0 and NPower 2.0 batch A and B.
“There is a need to audit the number of people in the programme, those who have exited the program, those who are being owed, whether they reported to work or not, and how funds have been utilised over this period of time.
“Recently, we discovered instances of programme beneficiaries whose participation has lapsed since 2022 but have remained on and continue to expect payments from the government. In addition, some beneficiaries must honour their obligation to the programme. They do not report to their places of primary assignments as required but still receive monthly payments. Some have other jobs and have left this bracket but are still benefiting from the payments, while those who truly worked are not paid.
“These instances have made the need for a thorough audit imperative, as we also look into claims of those being owed for up to eight to nine months’ stipends to ascertain the veracity of their claims. The graduates & non-graduate volunteers Batch C1 & C2 are in this category. We want to establish the exact number of people owed and the total amounts, thereby eliminating ghost beneficiaries.”
“Preliminary findings of our audit have shown that some consultants are holding on to beneficiaries’ funds disbursed to them long ago, even when their contract ended in March 2023 without any renewal.
“We condemn this practice and will not tolerate it going forward. Work is ongoing to identify those involved, understand why the payments didn’t get to the final beneficiaries, and recall the funds to pay those owed.
“We appeal to Nigerians to understand the rationale behind the temporary suspension and investigation of the programme as we work to restore the nation’s confidence in the programme and for the new N-Power to serve Nigerians better. Things have to be properly done for us to move forward.”
“This restructuring and transformation will also birth an expanded programme to reach beneficiaries aged 18-40.
“We are targeting 5 million beneficiaries in 5 years at a pace of one million per year under the graduate and non-graduate stream.
“In addition, the restructuring will accommodate some new programmes, in Education, Health, Works, Agriculture, Technology, fashion, entertainment, and other relevant areas of skill acquisition and employability,” she added.
“It shall no longer be business as usual as we make concerted efforts to put the nation on the right footing, ensuring that no one directly or indirectly unleashes suffering on Nigerians.
“We assure all beneficiaries with genuine claims that we will resolve their cases once we complete the verification exercise and honour all valid outstanding obligations. Nobody will be owed.”
