The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development of Nigeria Umar Sadiya Faruk, has said that the Nigerian government “cannot afford to continue to pay the exited N-Power beneficiaries stipends indefinitely”.
The ministry’s Deputy Director, Press, Rhoda Iliya, made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday that the demand of ‘huge’ grant by protesting N-Power beneficiaries is not feasible.
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She said, “The ministry wishes to state that this demand was not part of the agreement of engagement they signed with the Federal Government, which clearly stipulated that they will be exited after two years.”
The Humanitarian Affairs suggested that it is yet to finalise the transition process of the outgoing volunteers.
“Furthermore, the government cannot afford the N300bn they were asking for as grant.
“The FG cannot afford to continue to pay the exited N-Power beneficiaries stipends indefinitely, more so that the process of engagement of new beneficiaries has already began.
“The Ministry even though it is not a lending agency is in contact with other Ministry’s, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as CBN and NALDA, to see if the exited beneficiaries can key into their empowerment programmes.”
Of all the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs), N-Power is the most popular.
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This online news medium reported that several beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s N-Power programme on Thursday 23rd July, 2020 protested at Abuja over unpaid Stipends and disengagement from the famed programme by Federal Government.
The protesters vowed not to back down on their agitation for permanency until the Buhari-led administration answers to their demand.
The N-Power was introduced in 2016 with the aim of reducing unemployment among Nigerian graduates and non-graduates between the ages of 18 and 35.
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