FG Moves To Absorb N-Power Beneficiaries Into MDAs

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, says discussions are ongoing to ensure that exited and eligible N-Power beneficiaries are absorbed into government programmes.

Farouq in a statement on Thursday in Abuja by her Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Nneka Anibeze, said exited beneficiaries should exercise more patience and await the result of her efforts.

“We have directed Focal Persons of National Social Investment Programmes in the states to submit an updated list of the exited N-Power beneficiaries that are interested in participating in the transition plans of the ministry.

“Meanwhile, approval has been given for the payment of the outstanding stipends for the exited N-Power Batches A and B beneficiaries.

“The approval for payments for up to the month of June, 2020 for the two Batches has already been forwarded to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) for final checks and payments.

“The only outstanding approval waiting to be forwarded to AGF’s Office is for the payment of July Stipends for batch B beneficiaries,” she said. The ministry said it had requested for the details of those affected and the reasons for their rejection from the AGFʼs office and promised to communicate that to the affected beneficiaries.

“However, if the rejection was done in error, those affected should rest assured that they will be paid all that is due to them as soon as the error is rectified by the AGFʼs office,” the statement added.

Umar-Farouq also explained that the Batches A and B N-Power beneficiaries knew from the beginning as they were informed that the programme was for 24 months.

She said the non-disengagement of Batch A beneficiaries after 24 months was done out of exigencies of the time.

The minister stated that exiting Batches A and B after 40 and 24 months respectively was in line with the conditions stipulated at the time of their enrolment.

The N-Power programme is designed to assist young Nigerians between the ages of 18 to 35 to acquire and develop life-long skills and are given a stipend of N30,000 monthly.

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Incoming N-Power Batch C Volunteers To Clearly Know The Details Of Their Terms Of Enrollment

Incoming N-Power Batch C beneficiaries will clearly know the details of their terms of enrollment and exit at the time of entry into the programme to avoid what happened in the case of N-Power Batches A & B.

Furthermore, adequate plan will be made well ahead of their time of exiting the program to avoid what happened presently.

The Honourable Minister concluded that the candidates seeking enrollment into batch C will be scrutinized and selected on merit.

“The ministry will follow a transparent process for selecting the qualified N-Power beneficiaries out of the 5,000,000 (five million) who applied”.

The N-power programme is designed to assist young Nigerians between the ages of 18 to 35 to acquire and develop life-long skills for becoming change makers in their communities and players in the domestic and global markets and given a stipend of N30,000 monthly.
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Press Statement: Payment of Outstanding Stipend To N-Power Volunteers

PRESS STATEMENT

PAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING STIPENDS TO EXITED N-POWER BENEFICIARIES

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq has approved the payment of stipends to the exiting N-Power beneficiaries under one of its National Social Investment Programmes.

The Honourable Minister stated on Monday, 24th August 20 that approval has been given for the payment of the outstanding stipends for the exited N-Power Batches A and B beneficiaries. The approval for payments for up to the month of June, 2020 for the two (2) Batches has already been forwarded to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGFs) for final checks and payments. The only outstanding approval waiting to be forwarded to Accountant-General’s Office is for the payment of July Stipends for batch B beneficiaries.

The Ministry however noted that about 14000 beneficiaries that were omitted by the AGF’s Office during the payment from March to June 2020 could be among those rejected by the GIPMIS payment platform due to discrepancies identified with their accounts as conveyed to the ministry by the AGF’s office. According to the report from the AGF’s office, any beneficiary receiving payment from other government payment platforms will be rejected by the Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIPMIS). Hence their payment will be withheld.

The FMHADMSD has requested for details of those affected and the reasons for their rejection from AGF’s Office and has promised to communicate that to the affected beneficiaries. However, if the rejection was done in error, those affected should be rest assured that they will be paid all that is due to them as soon as the error is rectified by the AGF’s office.

The Minister also explained that the Batches A & B N-Power beneficiaries knew from the beginning as they were informed that the programme is for 24 months.

Furthermore, the non dis-engagement of Batch A beneficiaries after 24 months was done out of exigencies of the time. Therefore, exiting Batches, A & B after 40 and 24 months respectively is in line with the conditions stipulated at the time of their enrolment. This is corroborated by the fact that when the N-Power programme was transferred to the ministry late last year, there was no plan for either automatic employment into public service or private sector or for transition to entrepreneurship put in place for them before the take over by the Ministry.

Despite this, the exited beneficiaries are advised to exercise more patience and await the result of the efforts being made by the Honorable Minister who is currently engaging various MDAs including the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure that the eligible exited beneficiaries are transited to government progammes or even employment where available.

In this regard, “we have directed Focal Persons of NSIPs in all the states to submit an updated list and details of the exited N-Power beneficiaries that are interested in participating in the transition plans of the ministry” the Honourable Minister stated.

While continuing, the Honourable Minister added that the incoming Batch C beneficiaries will clearly know the details of their terms of enrollment and exit at the time of entry into the programme to avoid what happened in the case of Batches A & B.

Furthermore, adequate plan will be made well ahead of their time of exiting the program to avoid what happened presently.

The Honourable Minister concluded that the candidates seeking enrollment into batch C will be scrutinized and selected on merit.

“The ministry will follow a transparent process for selecting the qualified beneficiaries out of the 5,000,000 (five million) who applied”.

The N-power programme is designed to assist young Nigerians between the ages of 18 to 35 to acquire and develop life-long skills for becoming change makers in their communities and players in the domestic and global markets and given a stipend of N30,000 monthly.

NNEKA IKEM ANIBEZE

SA MEDIA

27-08-2020
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N-Power Stipend : Will N-Power Pay Batch A July Stipend?

There have been lots of questions flying accross the internet whether N-Power Batch A Volunteers' July stipend will be paid to them, some N-Power beneficiaries have also stated that the minister of humanitarian affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq stated that she approved both June and July stipends for both N-Power batches.

The Minister in many occasion has stated that N-Power Batch A volunteers were exited in June while N-Power Batch B were exited July.

To be candid, the payment of N-Power stipend is something you can not predict these days. We are sure of N-Power Batch B July payment and also hoping that N-power Batch A is also paid July stipend.

So the Question whether N-Power Batch A will be paid July stipend is inconclusive until July alert begins to roll in.

However, the Ministry in charge of the N-Power scheme has paid June stipend to both N-Power Batch A and B except those having issues. It will be nice if both batches are paid July stipend.

Unpaid Stipends: OAGF & FMDMSD Express Regret to Genuine N-Power Volunteers

The attention of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development have been drawn to the complaint of non-payment of some N-Power volunteers during the payment, with some alleging non-payment for upward of five 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 N-Power beneficiaries using the GIFMIS platform as directed by Federal Government of Nigeria.

However, after receiving a complaint of non-payment by some N-Power beneficiaries who did same through the ministry, the OAGF (GIFMIS) officially wrote informing the ministry that out of a total of Five Hundred and Sixteen Thousand, Six Hundred (516,600) N-Power beneficiaries data was sent to OAGF for migration in April 2020.

Only a total of Five Hundred and Two Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty (502,580) data have successfully migrated to the GIFMIS platform, while a total of Fourteen Thousand and Twenty (14,020) N-Power beneficiaries were returned because the N-Power beneficiaries’ account details already exist in other MDAs, which is against the established rule of the N-Power Scheme. 

The Honourable Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, regrets any inconvenience this might have caused genuine and eligible N-Power beneficiaries just as the OAGF is saddled with the responsibility of filtering out those denied is working assiduously to remedy the situation.