I consider it necessary to give status update regarding the outstanding arrears of stipend to the 14,200 N-power cohorts from Batch A and B.From the outset, the N-power programme was designed to run for 24 months (2 years) which all beneficiaries signed on to,While the Batch A participants stayed on the programme for over 40 months, the Batch B members stayed within the 24-month time frame.
To ensure other young Nigerians benefit from N-power, we set June 30, 2020 terminal date for Batch A beneficiaries and July 31, 2020 terminal date for Batch B members.Out of the 500,000 combined beneficiaries from Batch A and B only 14,200 have 5 months outstanding stipend arrears.
The delay in the payment of the arrears arose due to platform migration from NIBSS to GIFMIS by the Office of Accountant General of the Federation in March 2020.
From the consolidated list of beneficiaries we received from the OAGF in September, the 14,200 beneficiaries with arrears of stipend were flagged for receiving monthly payment from other MDAs, particularly from the NYSC.
It is possible that the 14,200 beneficiaries used their NYSC allowance bank accounts for N-Power and GIFMIS payment platform picked them for double payment.
We have initiated State verification process with State N-Power Focal Officers. The 14,200 affected beneficiaries will present their NYSC certificates for final verification after which we will present an updated list to OAGF to pay off their 5 months arrears.
All legitimate claims and those on verified list will be paid before the end of the year.
Let me add that N-Power has contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of this country. We salute past beneficiaries for their service to the nation.
It is gratifying to note that N-Power achieved one of its core objectives of making beneficiaries self-reliant.
I am proud to inform Nigerians that 109,000 among the 500,000 beneficiaries have gone to become business owners and some are already employers of labour.