The Federal Government has announced that the N-Power program will be suspended indefinitely.
According to TVC News, this information was revealed by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
She emphasized that the government has been looking into how funds have been used from the program’s start and said that anomalies inside the plan were what led to the decision.
The Minister claimed that some recipients are not showing up for work but are still looking forward to their monthly payments.
She also claimed that some of the beneficiaries who were supposed to leave the program in 2022 are still being paid.
“We must go back and examine N-Power in order to identify the issues, therefore we will essentially stop the program for the time being until we have completed an accurate investigation into the application of funds to the N-Power programe, she added.
“We want to know how many people are essentially enrolled in the program at this time, how many people are being owed money, and how much money they are owed. We are completely expanding and overhauling the N-Power.”
She stated that they had encountered individuals who were supposed to have graduated from the program last year but are still claiming to be instructors.
“When we call the school or the places where they work, they are occasionally not there. Despite not working, they continue claiming that they are being owed eight or nine months stipends.”
The minister stated that about 80% of them are claiming salary despite not working.
The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration introduced the N-Power Program in 2016 to address the problem of youth unemployment and promote social development.
The program was developed for graduates and non-graduates between the ages of 18 and 35 who are unemployed.
The Program was created to give young people in Nigeria the training and credentials they need to compete in expanding international markets.