The Federal Government has suspended the N-Power programme indefinitely, according to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
Dr Edu, who announced the indefinite suspension while speaking in an interview on TVC News on Saturday, said the decision followed the discovery of some irregularities within the scheme.
Accordingly, she said the government has launched an investigation into the utilization of funds since the inception of the programme.
In particular, she revealed that some of the beneficiaries are not found in their place of assignments, and yet they expect monthly stipends.
The minister noted that some of the beneficiaries ought to have exited the programme since 2022 but are still on the payroll.
She said: “We must go back to look into N-Power and understand what the problems are so we will basically suspend the programme for now until we are done with proper investigation into the utilization of funds into the N-Power programme.
“We want to know how many persons are basically on the programme right now, how many persons are owed, and the amount they are owed. We are totally restructuring the N-Power and expanding it.
“There are lots going on. We met people who are supposed to have exited the program since last year and they are still claiming that they are still teaching.
“Sometimes, we contact the school or the places where they are working, and they are not there. They are not working yet they keep claiming that they are being owed eight or nine months’ stipends.
“About 80 percent of them are not working yet they are claiming salaries.”
The N-Power Programme was launched by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to address the issue of youth unemployment and help increase social development.
We must go back to look into N-Power and understand what the problems are so we will basically suspend the programme for now until we are done with proper investigation into the utilization of funds into the N-Power programme.
