Npower News Today Friday 31st May 2024

The Federal Government of Nigeria on Tuesday 28th May, said it had reinstated the suspended national social investment programme, revealing the national social investment programme which includes Npower would provide direct payments to 75,000,000 Nigerians in 50,000,000 households to reduce the suffering of citizens, especially vulnerable groups.

The federal government stated that the cash transfer program was overhauled to combat fraud. The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced this at the ministerial sectoral briefing to mark the first year in office of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration in Abuja.

On 12th January, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended all the National Social Investment Programmes which includes Npower for six weeks, as part of an investigation of alleged misappropriation of public funds in Npower, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation at large.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also suspended Betta Edu as the minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on January 8. Betta Edu’s ministry which is the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation oversees the operations of the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA).

The National Social Investment Programmes affected include Npower, the conditional cash transfer, the government enterprise and empowerment programme, and the national home-grown school feeding program.

On March 13, the House of Representatives told the federal government to lift the suspension of the National Social Investment Programmes.

To resuscitate the National Social Investment Programmes which includes Npower, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the establishment of a Special Presidential Panel, led by Wale Edun to carry out an extensive review and audit of the existing financial frameworks and policy guidelines of the national social investment programs.

Giving an update on the steps taken by the committee at the briefing, the finance minister Wale Edu stated that the government had decided to reactivate the national social investment program to provide help to poor Nigerians.

Wale Edun said, “I am duty-bound to give you an overview of the strategy, policies, and implementation of Mr President’s reform program. Immediately upon assuming office, Mr President launched macroeconomic reforms to restore stability to the Nigerian economy, including subsidy reforms and foreign exchange market reforms. These reforms caused a spike in costs for individuals and businesses, but Mr President is committed to counterbalancing the negative effects with interventions across the social spectrum.

“The government has restarted the social investment program, providing direct payments to 75 million Nigerians in 50 million households. Access to credit has been improved, with N1bn allocated to consumer credit and grants of 50,000 Naira being given to 1 million nano industries.”

Speaking further, Wale Edun said that the federal government had initiated direct payments to Npower staffs, contractors, suppliers, and vendors engaged by the government, evidently aiming to tackle corruption in business dealings.

Wale Edun disclosed that this measure would guarantee the prudent and accountable expenditure of the nation’s wealth.

Wale Edun also disclosed that the federal government was set to roll out an Economic Emergency Plan that would be implemented in the next six months. The emergency economic plan, Wale Edun said, would help to improve economic growth in the country.

Wale Edun said “A system of payment has been implemented to ensure that Nigeria’s money is spent wisely and accountably. The government has played a role in helping states in attracting cheap funding and processing projects at the community level. Nigeria’s international credit rating has improved, with Moody’s and Fitch increasing and improving Nigeria’s rates to positive.

“The government is committed to counterbalancing the negative effects of economic reforms with interventions across the social spectrum. Infrastructure is key to growing the economy, building employment, and creating multiplier effects throughout the economy. A fund has been set up to provide institutional long-term funds to support housing construction and low-interest mortgages for the average Nigerian and we are working to attract cheap funding for states and process projects at the community level.”

Wale Edun further said, “And as it was mentioned earlier, the pivot thing to CNG is a government policy not just for vehicles but for generators. They have to be either CNG-fueled or solar-based or electric vehicles.

“That is the new incentive structure. And it continues also in the oil and gas sector. There has just been a new set of incentives that are encouraging new investments. We expect $7bn worth of investment that has been sitting on the sideline to now come; similarly, in other sectors.

“A stable, growing economy attracts investment that increases productivity, grows the economy further, creates jobs and reduces poverty. That is the trajectory that Nigeria is now on.”

Source: https://solacebase.com/1-year-in-office-fg-to-resume-n-power-conditional-cash-transfer-program-others/

Federal Government Of Nigeria To Conclude Disbursement Of ₦50,000 Federal Government Grant By Friday May 31st, 2024

The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has announced that the ₦50,000 federal government grant for nano businesses covering 1,000,000 applicants across the federation is still in progress, stating that it will be concluded by the end of this month Friday 31st May 2024.

The Minister in charge of the federal government grant, Doris Uzoka-Anite, revealed this in a frequently asked questions (FAQ) circular issued on Thursday on her official X (formerly Twitter) account.

According to Doris Uzoka-Anite, the federal government grant disbursement is ongoing and all remaining successful applicants will receive their alerts between now and 31st May 2024.

“Many have already received their grants—thank you for your patience! For those waiting, please hold tight.

“The disbursement process is ongoing in batches and not yet completed. All remaining successful applicants will receive their alerts between now and the end of May. No further action is needed on your part for now.

“The disbursement is currently in progress and processed in batches. It is expected to be completed by the end of May 2024."

Only one million applicants to receive the federal government grant.

Doris Uzoka-Anite, also disclosed that only 1,000,000 from the over 3,600,000 applicants will be eligible to receive the federal government grant, adding that the federal government grant only covers such number of people.

Doris Uzoka-Anite, explained that the federal government grant disbursements are not based on any specific criteria but rather follow the order in which applications are verified.

According to Doris Uzoka-Anite,, the aim is to distribute funds to an estimated 1,290 beneficiaries per local government area (LGA) across the country, aiming for a total of one million recipients.

“Disbursements aren’t based on any specific criteria but in the order, applications are verified. The goal is to reach an estimated 1290 beneficiaries per LGA across the country totaling 1 million.

“Disbursement is subject to verification of NIN, which became mandatory after the initial application phase which required only BVN. The selection is random, without human intervention, from those who have passed both their NIN and BVN verification.

“Of over 3.6 million applicants, only 1 million will receive the grant. This is the threshold based on the amount budgeted for nano businesses,” Doris Uzoka-Anite, said.

In December 2023, the Federal Government launched the federal government grant as part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme aimed at supporting nano businesses.

The federal government grant offers non-repayable financial grants to eligible small business owners in various sectors such as trading, food services, ICT, transportation, creative industries, and artisans.

The federal government grant plans to distribute 70% of the grants to women and youths, 10% to individuals with disabilities, and 5% to senior citizens, leaving 15% for other demographics.

Doris Uzoka-Anite the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment announced that each qualifying recipient would receive a ₦50,000 federal government grant, which will be directly deposited into their bank accounts, with the goal of reaching 1,000,000 small businesses across the 774 LGAs and six council areas in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Stressing the extensive impact of the federal government grant, Doris Uzoka-Anite highlighted its potential to benefit communities across the entire nation, targeting a total of 1,000,000 beneficiaries.

Source: https://nairametrics.com/2024/05/02/fg-to-complete-disbursement-of-n50000-grant-by-end-of-may-uzoka-anite/

30,000 Students Successfully Applied For Student Loan

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr during press conference said a total of thirty thousand students have successfully applied for the student loan.

Similarly, over sixty thousand students have applied on the student loan portal of the fund.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this in a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

On June 12, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023 into law to enable indigent students to access interest-free student loan for their educational pursuits in any Nigerian tertiary institution.

The move was in “fulfillment of one of his campaign promises to liberalise funding of education,” a member of the then Presidential Strategy Team, Dele Alake, said.

The Act, popularly known as the Students Loan Law, also established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to process all student loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.

Although the government initially announced that the student loan would be launched in September, it suffered several delays leading to an indefinite postponement in early March.

The Presidency had linked the delay to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to expand the student loan scheme to include student loan for vocational skills.

After receiving a briefing from the NELFUND team led by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, on January 22, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed the Fund to extend interest-free student loans to Nigerian students interested in skill-development programmes.

Source: https://punchng.com/just-in-30000-successfully-registered-for-student-loan-nelfund/

Student Loan To Extend To State Institutions In Three Weeks Time

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says the student loan will be extended to state-owned tertiary institutions in three weeks.

On May 24, the student loan application portal was launched.

Before the rollout of the student loan, NELFUND said students of federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges would benefit from the first phase of the student loan.

However, NELFUND clarified that the student loan second phase will extend student loans to state-owned institutions.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, Akintunde Sawyerr, NELFUND managing director, said since the launch of the student loan, an overwhelming response has been received, with over sixty thousand students successfully registering on the student loan application portal.

“This for us has been an overwhelming response and it serves as a testament to the critical need for financial assistance amongst our student population and we remain committed to addressing this urgent demand,” Akintunde Sawyerr said.

Akintunde Sawyerr said student loan registrations do not necessarily translate to completed student loan applications by the students, adding that of the figure, only thirty thousand students have successfully applied for the student loan.

The managing director of NELFUND Akintunde Sawyerr said in line with NELFUND’s commitment to higher education, it will “commence accepting applications from students attending state-owned tertiary institutions in three weeks time”.

When asked about the exact date, Akintunde Sawyerr said the fund aims to start receiving student loan applications on June 25. However, Akintunde Sawyerr added that the date remains tentative with factors like data upload by institutions.

“We request all state institutions to submit their students data immediately in order to facilitate a smooth and seamless application process,” Akintunde Sawyerr said.

Akintunde Sawyerr revealed that over 90% of federal institutions of higher learning have submitted their student data to the fund.

“However, we urge the remaining two federal universities and five federal polytechnics to expedite the process to ensure that all eligible students can access financial support, so that we can expand to state-owned tertiary institutions,” Akintunde Sawyerr said.

Source: https://www.thecable.ng/just-in-student-loan-applications-to-open-for-state-owned-institutions-in-three-weeks/amp/