ANALYSIS: What Next For N-Power Beneficiaries After May Stipend Payment?

 

On May 23, 2020, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development announced that it is working to streamline the N-Power scheme "for greater efficiency and to provide opportunities for more Nigerian youths". The ministry also promised that "details will be provided as soon as May stipend has been paid". Now, May stipend is being paid, what next for 473, 137 enrolees of the programme?

'The idea of N-Power'

In November 2018, while speaking at a town hall meeting in Abuja, the nation's capital, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice-President (VP) of Nigeria said the Muhammadu Buhari administration will expand the famed N-Power scheme to accommodate one million beneficiaries in the next phase.

According to Osinbajo, the N-Power programme, which was launched in 2016, would become the largest post-tertiary job scheme in Africa.

“The idea of N-Power is supposed to be the government’s own programme of direct employment and training," the VP stated at the time.

"At the moment, we have taken up to 500,000 and in the next phase we are looking at another 200,000 and closely followed by another 300,000.

“In all, we will be employing up to a million, and that will be the largest post-tertiary job programme in entire Africa.

"The reason why we have done this is because of the employment problems that we have.

"We may not be able to engage everybody but at least the government must give some direct provision of jobs.”

1 million slots become 400,000

Speaking to newsmen after her meeting with federal lawmakers in Abuja in April 2020, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, the nation's Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development disclosed the government's 'fresh plan'.

According to Farouq, Nigeria will soon engage the service of 400, 000 N-Power beneficiaries.

"We have come up with the enrolment of the new beneficiaries of the N-Power - 400, 000 beneficiaries are going to be enrolled very soon," Farouq said at the time.

READ ALSO: N-Power Stipends: What You Should Do If You Haven't Been Paid For March, April

Uncertainty surrounds future of these Nigerian youths

In August 2018, the Federal Government engaged additional 300,000 beneficiaries in the second batch of its N-Power Volunteers Corp effective to add to the roughly 200, 000 pioneer volunteers.

Batch A beneficiaries are widely expected to be exited soon, while Batch B's duration in the programme ends July this year.

The beneficiaries who are Nigerian graduate youths are paid a stipend of N30, 000 (approximately 77 US Dollars) monthly.

At a time, these beneficiaries - split into N-Teach, N-Tax, N-Health, N-Agro et al - were asked to pick the options of becoming a SANEF (Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility) representative, field agent, obtain Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) loan, NIRSAL, teaching and/or community policing.

Most recently, they were urged to fill an online form regarding FMARD PACE.

Batch A and Batch B beneficiaries anxiously await what the Federal Government has in stock for them. But their hope is that they will be favoured.

Hajia Farouq already assured during her January 2020 visit to the corporate headquarters of Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust that they want the exiting beneficiaries to "have something to fall back on".

"We’re not just going to exit them to their fate," Farouq had said.

"We have options and we’re deploring these options so that they can have something to fall back on".

Fingers crossed!