The federal government has finally paid the arrears of Npower beneficiaries, who have been waiting for months to receive their stipends.
The payment was facilitated by the National Coordinator of Social Investment Programs Hajiya Halima Shehu through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
Npower is a social intervention scheme initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016, to address the problem of youth unemployment and enhance social development. The scheme has six categories: N-Teach, N-Health, N-Agro, N-Build, N-Creative and N-Tech. The beneficiaries are paid a monthly stipend of N30,000.
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However, the scheme has been plagued by delays and irregularities in the payment of stipends, leaving many beneficiaries frustrated and aggrieved. Some beneficiaries claimed that they have not been paid since March 2023, and staged protests and petitions to demand their entitlements.
The situation changed when Hajiya Halima Shehu was appointed as the new National Coordinator of Social Investment Programs in June 2021.
She vowed to address the operational challenges and deliver life-transforming interventions.
She also spearheaded the digitization of the payment process, ensuring that almost 2 million beneficiaries have debit cards, which they use for all transactions.
On Monday, December 18, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs announced that the federal government has approved the payment of all arrears of Npower beneficiaries, totaling N24 billion.
The ministry said that the payment will be done in batches, starting from the oldest to the newest beneficiaries.
The ministry also urged the beneficiaries to be patient and cooperate with the payment agents, as they verify their details and process their payments.
The beneficiaries expressed their joy and gratitude to the federal government and the National Coordinator of Social Investment Programs Hajiya Halima Shehu for fulfilling their promise and alleviating their plight.
They also appealed to the government to provide them with more opportunities for empowerment and employment after the completion of the scheme.