N-Power, a social investment programme of the Nigerian Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari says N-Power beneficiaries will receive the N-Power January stipend “shortly.”
Naija News reports that the assurance by the scheme is coming in the wake of the delay in payment of the January stipend to the N-Power beneficiaries in what is now a matter of national discourse after a similar incident occurred in October 2019 when beneficiaries were not paid for three months.
This online news platform understands that the beneficiaries, who are approximately 500, 000, under the famed scheme of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration are yet to be paid their January 2020 allowance of N30,000.
In the wake of this delay, a beneficiary of the scheme, identified as Jibrin Ibrahim, took to the micro-blogging site, Twitter to lament the delayed payment of the January stipend, adding that N-Power beneficiaries are suffering due to the delay in payment.
Ibrahim tweeted: “@npower_ng good morning to you all at the ministry, beneficiaries are suffering due to lack of on-time payment by the govt and yet no statement about the delay in their monthly stipend,” he wrote on Twitter.
@npower_ng goodmorning t9 you all @the ministry, beneficiaries are surfarring due to lack of on time payment by the govt and yet no statement about the delay in their monthly stipend.
— jibrin ibrahim (@jibrinjajere) February 14, 2020
Replying to Ibrahim’s tweet, the official account of the Job Creation and Youth Empowerment scheme of the Nigerian Government offered their apology and assured that the payment of the January stipend would commence “shortly.”
“Apologies for the delay, payment will commence shortly,” the scheme replied to Ibrahim’s tweet.
Apologies for the delay, payment will commence shortly.
— N-Power (@npower_ng) February 14, 2020
Meanwhile, Naija News reports that since the social investment programme of the Nigerian Government was moved to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, the minister, Sadiya Farouq, had been making attempts to stop some of the programmes under the scheme.
Aside from announcing that N-Power beneficiaries would be laid off, the minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management has also refused to release funds for the school feeding programme in some states.
Reacting to the delay in the payment of January stipend, N-Power beneficiaries under National Association Of N-Power Volunteers said they would no longer hesitate to embark on a strike action if their allowances are not paid.
Naija News understands that the N-Power beneficiaries are also asking for the immediate resignation of the minister over the delay in salary payment since Farouq took over the scheme.
According to them, “We believe that Hajia Farouq has a selfish agenda to sabotage the effort of the Federal Government to eliminate unemployment as she had continually held on to public money without reasons.
“We are hereby calling on the minister to as a matter of urgency give us reasons why she has deliberately refused to pay volunteers who have exhausted their time, energy and resources offering voluntary service to the Federal Government.
“She should also gave volunteers reasons why she was still holding to that position she currently occupies knowing fully well that she is incapacitated in running this all important office as the lives of many Nigerian youth solely depends on this stipend that she had continued to deny them promptly.
“To this end, we shall embark on a peaceful protest both physical and online to demand her resignation, prompt payment of stipend,” the National Association Of N-Power Volunteers said.
