N-Power: Read 'Powerful' Letter Written By Beneficiary To Nigerian Lawmakers

 

An N-Power beneficiary, Moneke Leonard, has written the National Assembly of Nigeria expressing his absolute displeasure with the impending disengagement of close to 500, 000 volunteers under the famed scheme, AllNews reports.

Recall AllNews reported on Friday that approximately 500, 000 N-Power beneficiaries will be disengaged from the scheme by July ending.

This was ratified last week in Abuja, the nation's capital.

While the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development say the exiting beneficiaries will be transitioned into government entrepreneurship programmes, most beneficiaries contend the government's plan is vague. And Leonard is one of them. He asks for permanency in his 'Open Letter' to Nigerian lawmakers posted on his Facebook page on Saturday.

Read in full Leonard's letter below:

OPEN LETTER TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY :

DISENGAGING NPOWER BENEFICIARIES WILL NOT SOLVE THE ISSUE OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE COUNTRY, GIVE THEM PERMANENCY IN BATCHES.

I have written considerably within my very own conscience on this piece, a judgment from the policy of what should be and how it oath to be in fairness and equity for the justice towards these frustrated Npower beneficiaries.

In 2013 during the 7th Assembly if I am not mistaken,
That should approximately be during the former president Jonathan Ebele's administration when there was a casualty which hit hard on human conscience as a result of mass stampeding during the Nigeria Immigration service Examination exercise Nationwide which took the lives of many innocent Nigeria youths to be.

That very day I begin to respect the Nigerian government as a government of human Administrative conscience, haven called on the relatives of the victims as they were given replacement slots and affected families were compensated as well.
That single act was not achieved by just the president then but was a collective effort of that Administration.

During the late former president Yar-Adua, a committee was set up on the fight towards ending insurgence and militancy in Niger Delta precisely .on a good number of time chiefs, youths, and grassroots leaders were all consulted to borrow ideas on solving the issue of insecurity and that achievement was very fast in realising it's goals through sincere dedication and commitment by both the presidency and the members of the National Assembly which was what lead to what we now have in the country as the National Amnesty program which has been so far successful in terms of realising it's aims and purpose in the country and that was an act and an excellent idea of some political technocrats in the National Assembly who deemed it right as a means to end militancy and kidnapping.

This Amnesty program and initiative took many militants abroad for studies and training and that cost the Government so much yet they never complained.
The program cost the government billions of Naira to train these militant group abroad and today program or perhaps should I say the initiative is progressing as we are still using it on today's Boko Haram repentants.

The Nigeria Civil Defence Corps, NDLEA, NAFDAC, EFCC, NDDC, etc all gained approval by past Administrations just for job creation in order to end unemployment in the country.

In fact let me say every Ministry, Agencies, and bodies are the creation of one administration or the other in the past which was created to tackle one problem or the other but it's being enjoyed by everyone in the country.

If we keep rejecting bills that will ordinarily solve Nigeria's problem then we are just nothing but the makers of these rising problems.

The previous administration also mapped out plans to eradicate poverty and reduce the high level of unemployment in the Nation, through its own style of youth empowerment program known as SURE-P.

The said sure-p did not see the light of the day to realise it's objective as it was immediately beaten down and scabbed by the new leadership since it was considered a consuming hippopotamus and a waste of Nations resources.

This led to a newborn programme, conceived and perceived to be a world-class Job reduction program (JRP) adopted by the 8th Assembly in the fight against unemployment in the country and was tagged N-POWER.

this leadership gained its first phases of praises from these programme withing the globe as to how the Nigeria Government successfully employed 500.000 Nigeria from the street that Nigeria's unemployment level became much more relaxed.

At first, the program came to Nigerians with bigger hope for these innocent Unemployed youths, as many homes were brought out of poverty in a mass number as it gained international Administrative appraisal.

Even though the pay was less but at least it was able to keep ones mind out of crime and can enable one to pay his bills so that the issue of unemployment was half solved.

Just like Corona, we are in the fight on eradicating poverty and empowering youths through a life-changing means which is one of Nigeria's problems.
If we put interest in ending corruption, poverty, and unemployment the way we are putting on the fight to end covid19 I believe we will be better than the way we are today.

Fine these youths were initially told the job duration was a just 2 years contract which made many applied hoping before then they will have something better doing.

In a time when these innocent youths have made up their minds to leave in 2018 which marks the end of the programme, there was a promise which came to them through the Country's adviser on social media (Mr. Afolabi )
According to Mr. Afolabi in a statement and I quote "your permanency is in your hand as you vote wisely ".

This brought new hope to these beneficiaries as they dumped other opportunities to grab a government job as promised by the APC led Administration.

The subsequent year wasn't a blanked one too as almost all Nation's popular Newspapers carried it as headlines that N-Powers beneficiaries were to be transited into new National community police and this again made so many beneficiaries lost interest on other jobs, hoping to the Government will keep their part of the promises made during the campaign.

Why I am bringing up these topics?

I am deeply disappointed haven read through National papers that the Federal Government disengages 2016 and 2017 beneficiaries who have contributed so much on our education and health sector into a mere entrepreneurs scheme.

I mean I know there are still good leaders there, some of you were a one time Governor so you know better.

The former Rivers State Governor, now a minister for Transport once employed massively in Rivers State and today his name is round the walls ringing the bell.

If the former President Jonathan's led Administration didn't do anything I won't be mentioning his name at all.

This is about National building and Economy so I want you all as the leaders we have to consider the plight of these youths.

I want the National Assembly to know that if these youths are sent back, then they have been denied a better future after graduation as many of these youths have grown beyond employability age in the civil service commission.

How can we boldly say we have reduced unemployment when we have just offloaded 500.000 youths in the selection of another 500.000 youths which will be given the same dumping treatment in the short-term?

I mean it's a simple mathematics.we have only successfully destroyed lives of some 500.000 innocent Nigerian youths the moment we send them back to the street, therefore adding more to our problems.

Most of these youths became dependants on their #30.000 stipends and now have families and homes they take care of.
I am appealing with the National Assembly to intervene on this issue to demonstrate their representative status for their respective constituencies.

As the people representatives that you are, I urge you all to defend these youths into permanency.
Let us solve a problem before creating another .engaging a new set of youths without gainfully engaging the 2016 and 2017 are just like another NYSC program and a total waste of funds.

We need your help.

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