NPOWER NEWS ON THE PRESS STATEMENT AS REGARDS THE ONGOING AUDIT AND TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF NPOWER

According to Npower News, it is imperative to inform Npower batch c beneficiaries across the country, of the temporary suspension of Npower.

 

This suspension of Npower has become necessary to give room for a detailed investigation into the operations of Npower in the last twelve months. The total number of Npower beneficiaries enrolled on Npower since inception to date is 960,000 people. Most of them have exited from Npower batch c and Npower batch A and B.

 

There is a need to audit the number of Npower beneficiaries in the Npower programme, Npower beneficiaries who have exited the Npower program, Npower batch c beneficiaries who are yet to receive Npower payment, whether the Npower batch c beneficiaries reported to work or not and how funds have been utilised over this period of time.

 

Recently, we discovered instances of Npower programme beneficiaries whose participation has elapsed since 2022 but have remained on the Npower program and continue to expect Npower payments from the government. In addition, some Npower batch c beneficiaries must honour their obligation to the Npower programme: They do not report to their places of primary assignments as required but still receive monthly Npower payments. Some Npower batch c beneficiaries have other jobs and have left this bracket but are still benefiting from the Npower payments, while Npower batch c beneficiaries who truly worked are not paid.

 

These instances have made the need for a thorough audit on the Npower program imperative, as we also look into claims of those being owed for up to eight to nine months' Npower payments to ascertain the veracity of their claims. The graduates & non-graduate Npower Batch C1 & C2 are in this category. We want to establish the exact number of Npower batch c beneficiaries owed and the total Npower stipends thereby eliminating ghost Npower batch c beneficiaries.

 

Preliminary findings of our audit have shown that some consultants are holding on to Npower batch c 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 Npower batch c beneficiaries involved, understand why the payments did not get to the final Npower batch c beneficiaries, and recall the funds to pay those Npower batch c beneficiaries owed.

 

We appeal to Npower batch c beneficiaries to understand the rationale behind the temporary suspension and investigation of the Npower  programme as we work to restore the nation's confidence in the Npower programme and for the new Npower to serve Npower batch c beneficiaries better. Things have to be properly done for us to move forward.

 

This restructuring and transformation of Npower 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 Npower batch c beneficiaries with genuine claims that we will resolve their cases once we complete the Npower verification, and Npower validation exercise and honour all valid outstanding obligations. No Npower batch c beneficiary will be owed.

 

Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo

National Programme Manager

Npower for

Honorable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation