The Federal Government, on Sunday, provided further explanations for its decision to suspend the N-Power program.
It stated that the program had fraudulent beneficiaries, and some of its consultants were withholding participants’ funds.
As reported by Sunday PUNCH, over one million Nigerians lost their jobs due to the indefinite suspension of the N-Power program announced by Minister Betta Edu.
The program was initially established by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to combat youth unemployment, providing beneficiaries with a monthly stipend of N30,000.
Akindele Egbuwalo, the National Programme Manager for N-Power, added more reasons for the suspension on Sunday, highlighting the presence of ghost workers in the program that needed to be removed.
Regarding concerns about the program’s consultants, Egbuwalo expressed, “Preliminary findings from our audit indicate that some consultants are retaining funds allocated to beneficiaries, even after their contracts ended in March 2023 without renewal.
This practice is condemned and will not be tolerated.
We are actively identifying those responsible, investigating why payments were not reaching the intended recipients, and recovering the funds to settle those owed.”
“We urge Nigerians to comprehend the reasons for the temporary suspension and investigation of the program.
Our goal is to restore trust in the program and improve its service to Nigerians.
It is essential to ensure that things are done correctly as we move forward,” Egbuwalo emphasized.
He also revealed that the ongoing restructuring and transformation efforts would expand the program’s reach to include beneficiaries aged 18-40, raising the previous age limit of 35.
