NPower: Ministry Working With CBN & NALDA

The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Sadiya Umar Farouk said she is working with CBN to see if loans can be provided to the outgoing NPower beneficiaries and also to see if NPower volunteers can be engaged in National Agricultural Land Development Authority 

(NALDA).

Details Of Senate Meeting With NPower Beneficiaries As Hope Rekindles.

The Senate has once again on Thursday being 23rd July, 2020 rekindled the hopes of Npower Beneficiaries (Batches A & B ) that non of them will be thrown out of the scheme without a comprehensive enhancement package in place. While addressing NPower beneficiaries, the Senate President who was represented by Senator Onor Sandy Ojang ( Representing Cross River Central ) said, he empathised with the NPower beneficiaries for the precarious conditions such as delay in payment of stipends, backlog of payments and the news of disengagement amid covid-19 pandemic that the NPower volunteers were subjected to. Senator Onor appreciated the NPower beneficiaries for the civilised way they conducted themselves while pressing home their demand. Senator Onor Sandy Ogang Speaking on behalf of Lawmakers He added, “we have read all the placards you are carrying, arising from your prayers therefore, I can assure you on behalf of Nigerian Lawmakers that all your demands especially the issue of “permanency” would be met with immediate effect. Youths are the backbone of any Nation and Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari cannot do otherwise but ensure that Nigerian youths are given the desire respect and dignity they deserve”. ” I am a professor and I know what it takes to be a graduate; hence, let me say that I personally feel embarrassed and ashamed why youths earning a stipend of N30,000 working in Primary Schools, serving as an Extension Workers, Health Officers and ICT officers will be disengaged from their means of livelihood without alternative jobs or promoted to “enhancement stage” as earlier promised by the government . As Lawmakers, we will follow due process to make sure that you are given a permanent job”, Senator Onor Added. Earlier, the National President of NPower beneficiaries, Comrade Pelumi Aliyu said, “it is unfortunate that enemies of President Muhammadu Buhari who are against his laudable initiative of NPower are using Media to tell lies and promote propaganda against the ever committed, grateful and faithful NPower beneficiaries which he stressed now led to staggered payments and backlogs of many months”. ” He noted that, “during 2019 election, stakeholders of NPower to include Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Mr Afolabi, Minister Audu Ogbeh among others have said that, a vote for President Muhammadu Buhari, guaranteed permanency. He however lamented that since Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq took over the NPower scheme, it has been tension in the air as her coming has not elevated NPower volunteers in any way rather championing the campaign of disengagement. While thanking the Senate representative for giving them listening ears, he also saluted his colleagues who have traveled from across the 36 states of the Federation to be at NASS headquarters Abuja. 

Sadia Umar Farouq Explains Reason Behind Non-Payment of NPower Beneficiaries

The Federal Government, Thursday, said it did not pay 14,020 NPower volunteers in the just ended batches of NPower programme because the affected NPower volunteers’ account details were found to be already existing in other ministries, departments, and agencies. The Federal Government noted that the actions of the NPower enrollees were against the established rule of the NPower scheme, the Ministry regretted that the development affected some genuine and eligible NPower beneficiaries.

But said it was investigating into such cases with a view to solving the issues soonest.

The Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, in a statement through its Deputy Director, Press, Rhoda Iliya, responded following complaints lodged by some NPower beneficiaries who claimed they did not receive their payments accrued to 4 months before the end of the just concluded batches. “The Honourable Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, regrets any inconvenience this might have caused genuine and eligible NPower beneficiaries just as the Office of the Accountant General, saddled with the responsibility of the filtering out those denied is working assiduously to fix the situation,” the statement said. It read in full: “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has been drawn to the complaint of non-payment of some NPower volunteers during the last exercise, with some alleging non-payment for upward of four months. “For the records, the Ministry wishes to state that it had always processed, approved and remit necessary information for payments to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, (OAGF), whose responsibility it is to credit the various accounts of the NPower beneficiaries using the Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System,(GIFMIS)platform as directed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“However, after receiving a complaint of non-payment by some NPower beneficiaries the OAGF (GIFMIS) officially wrote informing the ministry that out of a total of 516,600 NPower volunteers data sent to OAGF for migration in April 2020, only a total of 502,580 data have successfully migrated to the GIFMIS platform, while a total of 14,020 NPower beneficiaries were returned because the NPower beneficiaries’ account details already exist in other MDAs, which is against the established rule of the NPower scheme. This is verifiable. “The Honourable Minister,Sadiya Umar Farouq, regrets any inconvenience this might have caused genuine and eligible NPower beneficiaries just as the OAGF saddled with the responsibility of the filtering out those denied is working assiduously to remedy the situation.”