N-Power: Afolabi Imoukhuede Speaks On Fate Of Batch A, B Benefiaciaries (Throwback)

It's Thursday and AllNews travels back in time to pre-2019 general elections when Afolabi Imoukhuede, the then N-Power-Job Creation Cluster Lead of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) promised beneficiaries permanency if they ensure the successful reelection of his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Edo-born technocrat who had prior to the last presidential election in Nigeria pleaded with batch A and B beneficiaries to once more vote President Buhari to enhance their continuity in the famed programme, was quoted to have said that the N-Power heads were in talks with state governments for an exit package for beneficiaries.

Many slammed him for a statement credited to him in the Live Facebook chat at the time when he said that giving permanent employment to 500, 000 volunteers under the scheme is "impracticable".

They wonder the sudden change in tone by Imoukhuede and lamented the 'deceit'.

READ ALSO: NEXIT Portal: Exited N-Power Beneficiaries Express Concern Over Nonoperational CBN Empowerment Programme

AllNews understands that a huge number of the batches A and B beneficiaries desire absorption into civil service - state of federal. And they have been vocal about their demand.

At a time in 2020, Lagos beneficiaries staged a peaceful protest to drive home their message.

"Your quest for permanence is directly tied to the continuity of Mr. President in office. So, I wanna turn the table to you.

"So, you can be sure that in his continuity, your quest for permanence will also be taken care of," Imoukhuede had said at the time.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has since been spending his second term in office and erstwhile beneficiaries of the Federal Government's famed N-Power scheme are expressing serious concern about the much-publicised NEXIT Portal, an initiative the Nigerian government says is a portal designed for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) empowerment programme for exited N-Power volunteers.

Since releasing the NEXIT Portal on November 30 2020 - four months after exiting N-Power Batches A and B beneficiaries, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development of Nigeria which is saddled with N-Power duties has not effected the CBN Empowerment Programme.

This is despite the fact that hundreds of ex-N-Power beneficiaries have logged on to the NEXIT portal and provided the required additional information for possible placements into the various CBN intervention options.

Throwback: Watch Afolabi Imoukhuede’s video here.