FG suspends N-Power, probes past activities
The federal government has suspended the N-Power programme and launched a probe into its activities over the past year, citing irregularities and fraud in the social assistance scheme.
“This action has become necessary to give room for a detailed investigation into the operations of the N-Power in the last twelve months,” Akindele Egbuwalo, National Programme Manager N-Power for Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, said in a statement on Sunday.
He explained that the probe would audit the number of people enrolled, exited, and owed by the programme, as well as how funds have been utilised over this period of time.
He added that the ministry had discovered instances of beneficiaries who had lapsed from the programme since 2022 but were still receiving payments, as well as those who did not report to their places of primary assignments or had other jobs but were still benefiting from the programme.
“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,” he said.
He also revealed that some consultants were holding on to beneficiaries’ funds disbursed to them long ago, even when their contract ended in March 2023 without any renewal. He condemned this practice and said that the ministry was working to identify those involved and recall the funds to pay those owed.
He appealed to Nigerians to understand the rationale behind the temporary suspension and investigation of the programme as the ministry worked to restore the nation’s confidence in the programme and for the new N-Power to serve Nigerians better.
He said that the restructuring and transformation of the programme would also accommodate some new programmes in education, health, works, agriculture, technology, fashion, entertainment, and other relevant areas of skill acquisition and employability.
He also announced that the new programme would target 5 million beneficiaries in 5 years at a pace of 1 million per year under the graduate and non-graduate stream, with an expanded age limit of 18-40 (the previous age limit was 35).
“To earn the confidence of Nigerians in the expanded programme, transparency and accountability will be the benchmark. It shall no longer be business as usual as we make concerted efforts to put things in order,” he said.
