The federal government’s decision to permanently halt the N-power scheme has received new updates from Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Betta Edu.
She provided the information in a statement made on her behalf on Sunday by Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo, National Programme Manager of N-Power, saying that the programme had been paused for an audit and better reorganisation.
Recalls on Anaedoonline.ng On Saturday, Edu announced the program’s indefinite suspension and added that the government has started a probe into its operations.
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She explained that the government had initiated an investigation into the use of funds since the program’s commencement and that the decision to suspend N-Power was a result of various inconsistencies within the scheme.
The Minister claims that even when some beneficiaries are not where they are supposed to be, they nevertheless anticipate monthly stipends. She continued by saying that some recipients who ought to have left the programme are still being paid.
The Minister clarified the government’s decision on Sunday by stating that the plan had a number of faults.
She explained that some consultants were holding onto funds given to beneficiaries long after they were supposed to, even after their contracts expired in March 2023 without being renewed. Meanwhile, some beneficiaries were still receiving N-power allowances despite having full-time jobs at the time and those who had actually worked weren’t being paid.
Edu stated that the N-power project would be audited to ascertain the exact participant count as well as the financial management.
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In addition to the investigations, the Minister disclosed that the Tinubu administration intends to change the recipients’ maximum age from 35 to 40.
The statement reads: “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.
The statement added that, “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.
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“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.”
Edu appealed to Nigerians to understand the rationale behind the government’s decision on the matter.
“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.
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“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.
The Minister promised that the N-power plan would not operate as normal again and that all parties with legitimate complaints will have their cases adjudicated.
She said: “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.”
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