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Tag: N-Power

  • BREAKING: Tinubu suspends N-Power, GEEP, conditional cash transfer, all NSIPA-related activities over corruption

    BREAKING: Tinubu suspends N-Power, GEEP, conditional cash transfer, all NSIPA-related activities over corruption

    President Bola Tinubu has suspended all administered programmes by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).

    Mr Segun Imohiosen Director Information, office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

    According to him, the action is further to the ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.

    “All four Programmes administered by NSIPA, viz; N-Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.

    “And Home Grown School Feeding Programmes have been suspended for a period of six weeks in the first instance, ” he said.

    He said President Tinubu has also raised significant concerns regarding operational lapses and improprieties surrounding payments to the programmes’ beneficiaries.

    Tinubu, therefore, has constituted a ministerial panel to conduct a thorough review of the Agency’s operations with a view to recommending necessary reforms of the NSIPA.

    “During the period of this suspension, all NSIPA-related activities, including but not limited to all distributions, events, payments, collaborations and registrations are now frozen”.

    The President wishes to assure the stakeholders and all Nigerians that his administration remains committed to a swift an unbiased process that will ensure moving forward.

    He added that the social intervention programmes would work exactly as intended to the benefit of the most vulnerable Nigerians.

  • FG renames N-Power, promises to clear benefiaciaries’ backlog in November

    FG renames N-Power, promises to clear benefiaciaries’ backlog in November

    Federal government has promised to commence the payment of the nine-month backlog of N-Power beneficiaries as from November 2023.

    It has also renamed the scheme to Renewed Hope Job Creation Programme (RHJCP).

    The National Programme Manager of the N-Power, Akindele Egbuwalo, disclosed this on Monday.

    Egbuwalo said the payment would be done in installments starting from early November.

    According to him, the funds have been recovered from the existing payment service providers.

    A statement signed by the national communication manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Jamaluddeen Kabir, said that Egbuwalo revealed this during a meeting with some N-Power beneficiaries.

  • Why we suspended N-Power Scheme – FG

    Why we suspended N-Power Scheme – FG

    The Federal Government has released more statements stating why it suspended the N-Power programme, created by the previous administration of President Mahammadu Buhari.

    According to the FG, the scheme had ghost beneficiaries, while some of its consultants were currently withholding participants’ funds.

    Over one million Nigerians had lost their jobs under the N-Power programme following the indefinite suspension of the scheme by the government as announced on Saturday by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.

    The N-Power programme was established in 2015 to address youth unemployment as beneficiaries were paid N30,000 monthly stipend.

    Providing additional reasons why the scheme was suspended, the National Programme Manager N-Power, Akindele Egbuwalo, stated on Sunday that the scheme had ghost workers that should be eliminated.

    Egbuwalo said, “Preliminary findings of our audit have shown that some consultants are holding on to beneficiaries’ funds disbursed to them long ago even when their contract ended in March 2023 without any renewal.

    “We condemn this practice and will not tolerate it going forward. Work is ongoing to identify those involved, understand why the payments didn’t get to the final beneficiaries, and recall the funds to pay those owed.

    “We appeal to Nigerians to understand the rationale behind the temporary suspension and investigation of the programme as we work to restore the nation’s confidence in the programme and for the new N-Power to serve Nigerians better. Things have to be properly done for us to move forward.”

    Continuing he added that the ongoing restructuring and transformation would also birth an expanded programme to reach beneficiaries aged 18-40 (the previous age limit was 35).
  • See sharp practices uncovered in N-Power programme

    See sharp practices uncovered in N-Power programme

    The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation says some sharp practices have been discovered in the N-Power scheme set up by the President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the N-Power programme was set up by President Buhari to address the issues of youth unemployment and help increase social development.

    However, the emergence of the President Bola Tinubu government saw the suspension of the N-Power programme recently.

    In a statement on Sunday, Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo, National Programme Manager of N-Power disclosed some sharp practices being perpetrated in the scheme, hence the temporary suspension of the programme.

    Dr. Egbuwalo disclosed that the temporary suspension of N-Power became necessary to give room for a detailed investigation into the operations of the scheme in the last twelve months.

    Egbuwalo revealed that the total number of persons enrolled on N-POWER since inception to date is 960,000 people and that most of them have exited from N-Power 1.0 and N-Power 2.0 batch A and B.

    “Recently, we discovered instances of programme beneficiaries whose participation has lapsed since 2022 but have remained on and continue to expect payments from the government.

    “In addition, some beneficiaries must honour their obligation to the programme: They do not report to their places of primary assignments as required but still receive monthly payments.

    “Some have other jobs and have left this bracket but are still benefiting from the payments, while those who truly worked are not paid,” Dr. Egbuwalo said.

    Egbuwalo further stated that these instances have made the need for a thorough audit of the N-Power programme imperative.

    “We also look into claims of those being owed for up to eight to nine months’ stipends to ascertain the veracity of their claims. The graduates and non-graduate volunteers Batch C1 & C2 are in this category.

    “We want to establish the exact number of people owed and the total amounts, thereby eliminating ghost beneficiaries.

    “Preliminary findings of our audit have shown that some consultants are holding on to beneficiaries’ funds disbursed to them long ago even when their contract ended in March 2023 without any renewal.

    “We condemn this practice and will not tolerate it going forward. Work is ongoing to identify those involved, understand why the payments didn’t get to the final beneficiaries, and recall the funds to pay those owed,” the N-Power National Programme Manager said.

    The Manager appealed to Nigerians to understand the rationale behind the temporary suspension and investigation of the programme, adding that work is ongoing to restore the nation’s confidence in the programme and for the new N-Power to serve Nigerians better.

    “Things have to be properly done for us to move forward. This restructuring and transformation will also birth an expanded programme to reach beneficiaries aged 18-40 (the previous age limit was 35).

    “We are targeting 5 million beneficiaries in 5 years at a pace of 1 million per year under the graduate and non-graduate stream.

    “In addition, the restructuring will accommodate some new programmes, in Education, Health, Works, Agriculture, Technology, fashion, entertainment and other relevant areas of skill acquisition and employability.

    “To earn the confidence of Nigerians in the expanded programme, transparency and accountability will be the benchmark.

    “It shall no longer be business as usual as we make concerted efforts to put the nation on the right footing, ensuring that no one directly or indirectly unleashes suffering on Nigerians.

    “We assure all beneficiaries with genuine claims that we will resolve their cases once we complete the verification exercise and honour all valid outstanding obligations. Nobody will be owed,” Egbuwalo stated.

  • FG to rejig N-Power Scheme, pay beneficiaries

    FG to rejig N-Power Scheme, pay beneficiaries

    Dr Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, says plans are underway to rejig the N-Power scheme to accommodate more people and ensure prompt payment of beneficiaries’ stipends.

    Edu disclosed this in a statement on Sunday by her Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr Rasheed Zubair, in Abuja.

    The statement reported the Minister as saying that the challenges faced by N-Power beneficiaries in terms of delay in payment of their stipends would soon be addressed.

    “We will change the modalities so that people will get their delayed stipends, include more people, and relaunch it with a renewed hope concept,” she said.

    She also said, the ministry planned to establish humanitarian hubs across the 774 local government areas in the country, adding that would be a long-term goal towards eradicating poverty in Nigeria.

    She explained that the hubs would accommodate homegrown commodities, which would be sold at cheaper rates to Nigerians.

    The statement also said the ministry would send its staff to all the local government areas to get feedback in addition to engaging in digital tracking of the palliatives.

    According the statement, the digital tracking of the palliatives is aimed at determining the time, location, household, and individuals they are delivered to.

    ”This is to ensure transparent and effective disbursement of palliatives; we also plan to bring on board independent monitors to ensure the relief materials reached those in need.

    “Under my watch, the ministry will address poverty through Job creation, cash transfer to poor Nigerians.

    ”We will ensure engagement with the Nutrition Department, the establishment of Micro Small and Medium Enterprise and provision of stimulus to their Business”.

    She assured Nigerians of her commitment to curtail the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria through a prompt response.

    “Nigerians should be rest assured that all existing empowerment schemes within the National Investment Programme will be rejigged to cover more people effectively.

    Edu assured citizens of President Bola Tinubu’s huge economic interventions to meet their short and long term needs.

    “Mr President has a huge economic plans for Nigeria; some with short term goals while some with long term goals and Nigerians should please trust the process”

  • N-Power assures beneficiaries of prompt payment of stipends, clear backlogs

    N-Power assures beneficiaries of prompt payment of stipends, clear backlogs

     

    A federal government empowerment scheme known as N-Power has noted that it’s ready to ensure prompt payment and backlog of beneficiaries stipends are cleared.

    According to the management of the scheme, beneficiaries are expected to continue to do their job without any form of fear.

    “Dear Graduate Beneficiaries, we hope that you have resumed your duties in your different Places of Primary Assignments (PPA),” N-Power tweeted on Tuesday.

    “We are working tirelessly to ensure that beneficiaries’ stipends and those with backlogs are cleared,” N-Power said on Twitter.

    N-Power’s assurance is in response to a recent protest by some beneficiaries over the nonpayment of their allowances.

    The government empowerment scheme warned beneficiaries who refuse to report for work without any genuine excuse or official permission from their supervisors.

    “We also want to make it clear that any beneficiary who is found absent In his/her primary place of assignment (PPA) without official permission from his/her supervisor will be placed on payment hold for 45 days,” N-Power said.

    “Furthermore, if at the end of the 45 days, there Is no official clearance letter for reinstatement of the beneficiary by the State Focal Person, the beneficiary will be exited from the N-Power Programme. Kindly be advised to stick to one as we are poised to implement the Terms of Engagement.”

    N-Power is a scheme set up in Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016, to address the issues of youth unemployment and improve social development.

    The scheme was created as a component of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), to contribute to the government’s plan of lifting 100 million people out of poverty by creating opportunities to enhance the productivity of the Nigerian youth, according to the humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development ministry.

  • BREAKING: Days after arrest, ICPC releases D’Banj

    BREAKING: Days after arrest, ICPC releases D’Banj

    After almost 72 hours in custody, popular singer Oladapo ‘D’banj’ Oyebanjo, has been released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

    According to reports, D’Banj, arrested and detained by the ICPC on Tuesday over ongoing investigation into the diversion of N-Power programme funds, was released on Friday afternoon.

    The ICPC disclosed that about 10 persons have been invited over the last few months in connection with the N-Power fraud, and have been granted administrative bail after their detention.

    The Commission also disclosed that D’Banj has made statements to assist investigators to unravel the circumstances of the fraud allegations by the petitioners. The investigation followed numerous petitions on the diversion of N-Power funds running into billions of naira.

    The N-Power is a scheme established by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 8, 2016, to empower unemployed graduates.

  • Humanitarian Minister opens up on arrest of D’Banj

    Humanitarian Minister opens up on arrest of D’Banj

    The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq has opened up on the detention of Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’Banj.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports D’Banj was held and detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) over allegations of embezzling funds meant for N-Power beneficiaries.

    Farouq pledged to support the ICPC in its investigation of the alleged fraud in the N-Power Programme and assured beneficiaries of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), especially the N-Power that in spite of allegations of fraud, the Ministry was committed to continuity.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo on Wednesday in Abuja.

    She said ​the ministry’s attention was brought to a recent publication regarding ongoing investigations in relation to fraud allegations in the Programme.

    “​The ministry has deployed a well-rounded mechanism for the selection of eligible beneficiaries from across the country, adding that this has been in place since the inception of the programme.

    “Working with our service provider, program beneficiaries are onboarded, trained and deployed to pre-selected Places of Primary Assignment.

    “When it came to our notice that there may have been sharp practices by some personnel of the Payment Service Provider (PSP) involved in the payment processes of beneficiaries, the matter was immediately referred to ICPC for thorough investigation.

    “We are aware that certain persons have consequently been invited as part of the ongoing investigations. We want to commend the ICPC for the remarkable job they are doing to address the issue of alleged fraud discovered in the N-Power programme,” Farouq said.

    She stressed that the ministry and its partners have carried out thorough reinforcement of their systems to eliminate all anomalies and prevent similar occurrences in the future.

    The minister added that to this end her ministry is in close collaboration with ICPC to support the successful determination of the investigation.

    “However, In a bid to ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of N-Power and other NSIPs, the Ministry has over time involved other government MDA’s, Security Agencies and Civil Society Organisations in monitoring and compliance checks across the 36 states of the country and the FCT.

    “We want to assure all N-POWER beneficiaries of Federal Government’s continued commitment to the programme and the subsequent exit/off-boarding channels activated.

    “All programme beneficiaries should therefore continue to apply themselves to their utmost at their Places of Primary Assignment. All monthly stipends will continue to be paid in line with program expectations,” she said.

    Farouq further called on members of the public to come forward with information on any irregularities noticed in the implementation of the NSIP through the following channels; Email: npowersupport@nsip.gov.ng, npowerinfo@nsip.gov.ng Phone: 0700 CALL NSIP, 070022556747 or 07030859183- WhatsApp.

  • What we know about D’Banj’s involvement in N-Power

    What we know about D’Banj’s involvement in N-Power

    Nigerian singer and rapper, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’Banj was held and detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports D’Banj was reported to have turned himself in at ICPC’s headquarters in Abuja where he is being detained after operatives of the agency closed in on him for alleged involvement in fraudulently diverting hundreds of millions of Naira earmarked by the Nigerian government for the N-Power programme.

    The N-Power programme, one of the four main programmes under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), is an empowerment programme set up by the Nigerian government in 2016 to address youth unemployment and increase social development.

    The programme is designed to target Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35 and aims to help young Nigerians acquire and develop life-long skills to become practical solution providers in their communities, enabling them to become innovative players in the domestic and global markets.

    In 2021, D’banj was named brand ambassador for NSIP, which components also include the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCTP), Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) and the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).

    TNG recalls that the Afrobeats star was one of many high-profile personalities at the launch of a new NSIP programme spearheaded by Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya, Umar Farouq.

    D’Banj joined in unveiling the N-Power Batch C1 that year when he disclosed: “One million youths will be carefully selected and will be given N30,000 each month for the period of a year while they sharpen their proficiency in their chosen field of choice”.

    At the time D’Banj added: “We cannot do enough to eradicate poverty, but as an ambassador, I am dedicated to this vision and open for creative ideas and strategies to bring down the walls of poverty in Nigeria.

    “My heartfelt congratulations to the 500,000 beneficiaries of Stream 1 of Batch C. I also indulge them to make the most of this opportunity. Congratulations and God bless the honourable minister and each ministry fighting the good fight against poverty.”

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Daniel Banjo (@iambangalee)

    After discrepancies were unravelled in the management of accounts reportedly under the purview of D’Banj, the musician, according to sources, failed to show up for interrogation despite multiple invitations, forcing the ICPC into making moves to arrest the Afrobeats star anywhere in Nigeria and abroad.

    D’banj, insiders said, had dodged summons for weeks, claiming to be overseas for scheduled concerts each time he was invited to appear for interrogation over the fraud allegations.

    Why we are detaining D’Banj – ICPC

    Meanwhile, the ICPC has confirmed the detention of D’Banj. Mrs Azuka Ogugua, the ICPC’s spokesperson said this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja. Ogugua said that the investigation followed numerous petitions on the diversion of N-Power funds running into billions of naira.

    She said many N-Power beneficiaries had complained over the non-receipt of the monthly stipends in spite of payment by the Federal Government.

    “About 10 persons have been invited by the ICPC over the last few months in connection with the N-Power fraud, and have been granted administrative bail after their detention. Several invitations to Oyebanjo to appear before a team of investigators were ignored and not honoured.

    “Oyebanjo turned in himself and was taken into custody at the ICPC Headquarters on Tuesday, December 6,  2022, and is currently assisting the investigators to unravel the circumstances of the fraud allegations by the petitioners.

    “The investigation will be all-encompassing and also be extended to other collaborators of the fraud and the banks where the beneficiaries’ accounts are domiciled. This press release has become necessary to set the record straight in view of the reports awash in the media,” she said.

    According to her, an investigation is ongoing and the commission prefers not to preempt its outcome in order to avoid a media trial.

    TNG reports that the N-Power scheme established by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 8, 2016, to empower unemployed graduates, is currently getting legislative attention at the National Assembly (NASS).

    President Buhari sent a bill, known as NSIP Bill, to the Senate seeking to provide a legal and institutional framework for the programme

  • Why we are detaining D’Banj – ICPC

    Why we are detaining D’Banj – ICPC

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed the detention of Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as  D’Banj over an ongoing investigation into the diversion of N-Power programme funds.

    Mrs Azuka Ogugua, the Commission’s spokesperson said this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Ogugua said that the investigation followed numerous petitions on the diversion of N-Power funds running into billions of naira.

    She said many N-Power beneficiaries had complained over the non-receipt of the monthly stipends in spite of payment by the Federal Government.

    “About 10 persons have been invited by the ICPC over the last few months in connection with the N-Power fraud, and have been granted administrative bail after their detention.

    “Several invitations to Oyebanjo to appear before a team of investigators were ignored and not honoured.

    “Oyebanjo turned in himself and was taken into custody at the ICPC Headquarters on Tuesday, December 6,  2022, and is currently assisting the investigators to unravel the circumstances of the fraud allegations by the petitioners.

    “The investigation will be all-encompassing and also be extended to other collaborators of the fraud and the banks where the beneficiaries’ accounts are domiciled.

    “This press release has become necessary to set the record straight in view of the reports awash in the media,” she said.

    According to her, the investigation is ongoing and the commission prefers not to preempt its outcome in order to avoid a media trial.

    The N-Power is a scheme established by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 8, 2016, to empower unemployed graduates.