FG suspends N-Power scheme indefinitely, probes fund disbursement
The decision was announced by the Minister of by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, while speaking during an interview on TVC News on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
She explained that the programme was halted due to some irregularities within the scheme, adding that an investigation will be launched into how the funds were expended since the programme's inception.
“We must go back to look into N-Power and understand what the problems are so we will basically suspend the programme for now until we are done with proper investigation into the utilisation of funds into the N-Power programme," Edu said as she justified the suspension
“We want to know how many persons are basically on the program right now, how many persons are owed, the amount they are owed. We are totally restructuring the N-Power and expanding it.
“There are lots going on. We met people who were supposed to have exited the programme last year and they are still claiming that they are still teaching.
“Sometimes we contact the school or the places where they are working and they are not there. They are not working yet they keep claiming that they are being owed eight or nine months stipends, the minister added.
The N-Power scheme was a brainchild of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, and it was targeted at alleviating youth unemployment and helping increase social development.