NPower Stipend News Today; govt explains delay, Confirms Date of Payment

Administrators of the federal government social intervention scheme, N-Power have confirmed when beneficiaries of the scheme will be paid their February 2023 allowance.

It will be recalled the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, had disclosed the monthly stipends for the N-Power beneficiaries were delayed due to some data verification issues.

The Minister also added that she was still studying the files handed to her to understand the essence of the N-Power scheme.

However, speaking on Wednesday during a live Facebook chat, Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede, the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on job creation and youth empowerment noted that the stipends will be paid this week.

Many N-Power beneficiaries have started calling out the government on social media over the delay in the payment of their N30,000 monthly stipend for the month of February.

Some are even saying the delay in the payment of their stipends is worse than the threats of the coronavirus disease, lamenting that the delay is getting unbearable.

Naija News reports the N-Power scheme was introduced in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari, as a two-year social investment scheme for graduate and non-graduate Nigerians between the ages of 18-35.

The beneficiaries enjoy N30, 000 monthly stipend, and devices during the duration of their stay in the scheme.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, explained that the delay in paying N-Power beneficiaries was due to some verification process in the ministry.

Farouq disclosed that the Ministry was out to understand and have a full list of beneficiaries that were paid before she took over as Minister.

In a statement, she signed, Farouq said: “I know we had a complaint in October while we just got the NSIP into the ministry and we needed to understand the programme considering that it has been in existence before we came on board. We needed to understand before we start signing for a large amount of money and that was why we had the delay then.

“Unfortunately, then we were operating with a director who was overseeing the office of the permanent secretary and then in January, we had a new permanent secretary who also had to understand the nature of the programme.”

Recall that the Ministry had recently vowed to overhaul the National Social Investment Programmes, NSIPs.

A statement by Rhoda Ishaku Iliya, Assistant Director (Information) in the Ministry explained that it had begun the process of rigorous overhauling of N-Power and other social investment programmes.

This, the Ministry noted was to ensure maximum transparency, greater efficiency and more prudent application of resources.

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