The N-Power Batch “C” beneficiaries has in a SOS letter written to Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, called for urgent intervention even they said that they have not been paid their wages for the past eight months.
In a letter written by the National Publicity Secretary of the Batch “C” group, Gbadebo Adesiyan, they posited that the nonpayment of the stipends had caused them immense distress, inconveniences and hardship to millions of them captured under the scheme.
According to Adesiyan, no N-Power beneficiary under batch “C” had been paid anything from January to July of this year, with August, the eighth month coming to an end.
He lamented that the situation had left millions of beneficiaries in a state of financial uncertainty and despair.
Adesiyan in the letter said they were told that the delay on the payment of their stipends is due to the funds for the said unpaid months been unapproved and undisbursed into the National Social Investment Management System (NASIMS) account by the presidency.
“I wish to write this article with a heavy heart and a sense of urgency, hoping to shed light on a matter of National concern that needs your immediate action”, the letter reads.
“The non-payment of stipends to beneficiaries of the NPOWER program has caused immense distress, inconveniences and hardship to millions of our unemployed Graduates captured under the scheme.
“I implore Mr. President to take swift action to address this issue and restore the faith of the Nigerian people in their government’s commitment to their well-being and welfarism.
“For the past eight (cool months, NPOWER has failed to disburse stipends to its beneficiaries. The months of October, November and December of 2022 were paid to some of the beneficiaries while the majority still remain unpaid.
“No beneficiary was paid a dime in the whole of 2023 starting from January, February, March, April, May, June and July of 2023 this has left beneficiaries in a state of financial uncertainty and despair.
“The reason provided for this delay is the claims that funds for the said months have not been approved or disbursed into NASIMS account by the presidency, isn’t this laughable?
“Adding insult to our injury, a fake validation process was introduced by the Authorities and this has been riddled with technical glitches and inconsistencies.
“Beneficiaries have faced numerous challenges and roadblocks when attempting to validate their accounts, thereby impeding their access to the vital stipends they depend on for their livelihoods. Even those who successfully completed the validation process have not received a single payment.
“This situation has created a dire state of affairs, as beneficiaries struggle to meet their basic needs and support their families. The unpaid stipends were meant to alleviate financial burdens and enable individuals to contribute to the economy.
“Instead, the prolonged delay has exacerbated the already difficult circumstances faced by these individuals, pushing them further into poverty and despair.”
N-Power is a scheme set up by the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari on 8 June 2016, to help address the issues of youth unemployment and help increase social development.
The scheme was designed as a component of National Social Investment Program, with the mandate of providing a structure for large scale and relevant work skills acquisition and development and to ensure that each participant will learn and practice most of what is necessary to find or create work.
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