FG Urges Unpaid, Exited N-Power Beneficiaries To Begin New Verification

 

The federal government has called on the exited batches A and B N-Power beneficiaries, who were earlier omitted from the payment of their stipends, to report to their various State Focal Persons for verification and re-validation.

The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Farouq, said the development followed efforts to resolve unpaid stipends withheld due to discrepancies in records of the beneficiaries.

The minister said this in a statement issued by her Special Adviser, media, Nneka Anibeze, on Tuesday.

She also explained that the development followed investigations conducted by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation following the omission of some N-Power beneficiaries from payment of the stipend.

She added that such investigation also indicated that some beneficiaries were also drawing salaries from other federal government ministries, departments and agencies.

“However, the minister has directed that opportunity be given to the affected beneficiaries to verify and re-validate their eligibility so that qualified beneficiaries can be paid for their participation in the N-Power Programme.

“Beneficiaries are hereby directed to report to their State Focal Persons immediately with their bank account details including bank statements from March 2020 to date, NYSC Discharge Certificates, birth certificates and other related screening documents.

“The deadline for verification is October 13, 2020. Beneficiaries who fail to attend the verification exercise will forfeit their stipends.”

PREMIUM TIMES had reported in July how the federal government identified 14,020 N-Power beneficiaries, who had existing account details in other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies(MDAs).

This implies they were either being paid or had been paid before by those MDAs separately, a violation of the N-Power Programme, which is basically for unemployed graduates and undergraduates.

However, this newspaper also understands from sources at the ministry that the affected batch A and B beneficiaries , who had exited the scheme on June 30 and July 31 respectively, would be paid their outstanding five and four months’ stipends, if found clean through the verification process.

The N-Power is Nigerian government’s work-for-cash social assistance scheme with enrollees placed across public health and education establishments in the states.

The control of the scheme was domiciled in the office of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, during the first term of the Buhari administration. It has since been moved to the ministry of humanitarian affairs following the creation of the ministry by Mr Buhari in his second term in office.

The scheme involves the payment of N30,000 monthly stipend to beneficiaries enrolled in the programme.

#Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq #N-Power