The Federal Government has announced that the N-Power program will be suspended indefinitely.
Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, revealed this information on a Saturday TVC news program.
She stated that the decision was triggered by inconsistencies inside the plan, emphasizing that the government has been investigating fund usage since the program’s beginning.
According to the Minister, certain recipients are away from their authorized job sites while still expecting their monthly allowances.
Some of the beneficiaries, she claims, should have left the scheme in 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 programe for now until we are done with proper investigation into the utilization of fund into the N-Power program.
“We want to know how many persons are basically on the program right now, how many persons are owed, amount they are owed. We are totally restructuring the N-Power and expanding it.
“There are lots going on. We met people who were supposed to have exited the program 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% of them are not working yet they are claiming salaries”.
The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration created the N-Power Program in 2016 to combat young unemployment and promote social development.
The scheme was designed for unemployed graduates and non-graduates aged 18 to 35.
The Program was created to help young Nigerians prepare for a modern, worldwide economy by providing them with skills and certifications for rising global markets.