JUST IN: Finally, N-Power Beneficiaries Paid April 2020 Stipend

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, on Saturday, says its has concluded payment of April stipends to N-Power beneficiaries throughout the country.

Honourable Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, incharge of the ministry, confirmed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Saturday evening.

BIGPEN reports that the beneficiaries of the federal government Social Investment Programme, N-Power, have been lamenting the continuous delay in the payment of their stipends for some months now.

The payment which ought to have come since was delayed due to glitches resulting from the COVID-19 lockdown in some states.

But last week, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, however, gave assurance that the stipends would be paid before the week runs out.

According to her, the delay in the payment was because the ministry encountered some delays on the GIFMIS platform.

“I can now announce that all N-Power beneficiaries from Batch A and B have been paid their April stipends, she disclosed.

“We are working hard to streamline the programme for greater efficiency and to provide opportunities for more Nigerian youths. Details will be provided as soon May stipend has been paid’, she added.

The N-Power Programme was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) with the mandate to lift citizens out of poverty through capacity building, investment, and direct support. This effort also contributes to the administration’s vision of lifting 100 million people out of poverty by creating opportunities to enhance the productivity of the Nigerian youth.

The programme has enrolled 500,000 beneficiaries thus far – 200,000 from Batch A which started in September 2016 and 300,000 from Batch B which kicked off in August 2018. The beneficiaries were supposed to spend 24 months on the programme but Batch A beneficiaries have spent over 40 months thereby denying other Nigerians an opportunity to access the programme and gain skills for entrepreneurship and employment.