N-Power: Why No One Doubts Existence Of Scheme, Buhari's Aide Opens Up

 

Tolu Ogunlesi, the Special Assistant on Digital/New Media to President Muhammadu Buhari has said that 'because most N-Power beneficiaries are very vocal on social media', 'no one doubts the existence of the scheme'.

Allnews reports that Ogunlesi on his verified Twitter handle three days ago was jostling the famed scheme with other National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) like the Home Grown School Feeding Program (HGSF) and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Program (GEEP).

 

Consider something: no one doubts the existence of NPower or the fact that the 500,000 beneficiaries are paid 30,000 monthly, because most NPower beneficiaries are very vocal on social media.

Unlike the beneficiaries of School Feeding (children), CCT or GEEP (Trader Moni etc).

— tolu ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) May 2, 2020

 

READ ALSO: N-Power: Beneficiaries Expectant Of April Stipend

The Buhari administration says it intends to expand the N-Power scheme to accommodate one million beneficiaries in the next phase. This, to make it the largest post-tertiary job scheme in Africa.

The NSIP of Nigeria is a social welfare initiative created by the Federal government of Nigeria in 2015 under the direction of the National Social Investment Office (NSIO).

The Program was created to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable populations, including children, youth, and women.

Under President Buhari, the office has created four programs to address poverty and help increase economic development.

The N-Power (Nigeria) program provides young Nigerians with job training and education, as well as a monthly stipend of 30,000 Nigerian Naira (USD $83.33).

The Conditional cash transfer program directly supports the most vulnerable by providing no-strings-attached cash to those in the lowest income group, helping reduce poverty, improve nutrition and self-sustainability, and supporting development through increased consumption.

The GEEP is a micro-lending investment program targeting entrepreneurs with a focus on young people and women.

This program provides no-cost loans to its beneficiaries, helping reduce the start-up costs of business ventures in Nigeria.

Finally, the HGSF is the one way the government is attempting to increase school enrollment by providing meals to schoolchildren, particularly those in poor and food-insecure regions.

The program works with local farmers and empowers women as cooks, building the community, and sustaining economic growth from farm to table.

In the meantime, the Conditional cash transfer program particularly has drawn a lot of criticisms from some stakeholders and the general public who fault the implementation of the social investment programme, while calling for its review.