The Nigerian Government has announced that it would relaunch and overhaul the N-power scheme.
The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, while speaking about reforming the government’s Npower employment program for youth, said that the current Npower program is flawed and unsustainable, having only reached 993,000 Nigerian youth out of a target of 5 million.
Edu called for the program to be “totally rejected” in its current form.
The Minister whilw outlining plans to overhaul Npower to be more effective, said the changes would include new payment modalities to ensure timely disbursement of funds, expanding the number of beneficiaries, utilizing some in humanitarian roles, and providing clear guidelines on duration of participation.
According to her, the goal is to boost job creation and reduce high youth unemployment.
Dr Edu noted that there are many challenges to be faced in the reformation of the scheme with more loopholes emerging.
The Minister stressed the need to fix the program to restore public trust and provide impactful skills training and jobs.
The Ministry of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation is aiming to conclude modalities for the Npower overhaul and relaunch an improved version focused on empowering Nigerian youth, Dr. Edu said.
She then pleaded for patience from youths as the ministry works on the reforms.
