“Don’t greet us happy New Year, and, except you want to make mockery of us, the word happy can’t be used for someone who has not being paid for three months.”
The Nigerian Government’s plan towards lifting millions of youths out of poverty may have hit a snag as 510,000 beneficiaries of the N-Power scheme are yet to be paid the stipends for October, November and December, checks by Platforms Africa has revealed.
The scheme was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to address issues of youth unemployment and increase social development.
Two out of every five Nigerians are living below the poverty line according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its 2019 Poverty and Inequality in Nigeria Report.
Platforms Africa reports that several promises by the government through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development led by Sadiya Umar Farouq to pay the N30, 000 stipend are yet to be fulfilled even as beneficiaries lament.
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“It was what I was looking forward to as I was sick and needed to clear my hospital bills. I had to borrow from friends before I was allowed to leave the hospital,” a beneficiary who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.
Another beneficiary who declined to give her name said they had expected to be paid to celebrate Christmas, but the payment never arrived.
“Don’t greet us happy New Year, and, except you want to make mockery of us, the word happy can’t be used for someone who has not being paid for three months,” she said.
“Any beneficiary who still hangs his or her hope on this scheme is in for a rough ride. They better look for something else to do next year and just forget the existence of a scheme called N-POWER,” she added.
Sherriff Olawale, one of the scheme’s supervisor in Ibadan said there were reports that the stipends were not included in the 2021 budget hence the delay in payment.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs could not be reached for official comment.
One of the staff at the Public Affairs unit of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, who confirmed that the monthly stipends have not been given to the N-power beneficiaries in the last three months, said that he and colleagues are on holiday and could not make any official comment on the reason for the delay.
