FG Suspends N-Power, Launches Investigation On Fund Utilisation

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has announced the indefinite suspension of N-Power programme.

The minister made the announcement while speaking in an interview on TVC News on Saturday.

OSUN DEFENDER reports that N-Power Programme was launched by former president, Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to address the issue of youth unemployment and help increase social development.

Edu said the decision to suspend the programme was due to some irregularities within the scheme.

The minister added that the government has launched an investigation into the utilisation of funds since the inception of the programme.

She stated that some of the beneficiaries are not found in their place of assignments yet they expect monthly stipends, adding that some beneficiaries ought to have exited the programme since 2022 but are still on the payroll.

She said, “We must go back to look into N-Power and understand what the problems are so we will basically suspend the programme for now until we are done with proper investigation into the utilisation of funds into the N-Power programme.

“We want to know how many persons are basically on the programme right now, how many persons are owed, amount they are owed. We are totally restructuring the N-Power and expanding it.

“There are lots going on. We met people who are supposed to have exited the program since last year and they are still on claiming that they are still teaching.

“Sometimes we contact the school or the places where they are working and they are not there. They are not working yet they keep claiming that they are being owed eight or nine months stipends.

“About 80 percent of them are not working yet they are claiming salaries.”

• Kazeem Badmus