"N-Power Payments Will Effectively Begin in January 2024", FG Opens Up

• The federal government has said that a new structure for its famed N-Power scheme will be launched in December 2023
• The government also revealed that N-Power arrears will be paid to eligible beneficiaries by January 2024
• The N-Power is a scheme inaugurated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in 2016 with thousands of former beneficiaries across the key industries targeted by the programme – education, agriculture, health, and tax

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9-year-experience covering public journalism

FCT, Abuja - N-Power has said payments for eligible beneficiaries will "effectively begin" in January 2024.

Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation disclosed this in a recent interview with News Central TV, seen by Legit.ng.

N-Power's new structure set for December

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Edu said the Bola Tinubu administration is determined to properly restructure the N-Power scheme, assuring that owed beneficiaries, despite their disengagement, will be settled.

Her words:

"We met discrepancies and we intend to clean it up before we go back to paying those who are owed, and then bringing out a completely new structure.

"We would capture people, and then, put them on the scheme properly, we would verify them, and we would go ahead to pay them."

The minister stressed that her principal, Tinubu, has given them a marching order to "clean up" N-Power.

She continued:

"For N-Power, we would truly advocate to Nigerians and to young people that they give us up until January next year (2024), because from what we have seen on ground, this will take a while to clean up, and then, we can now come out with the new structure for November, December. And then, payments will effectively begin in January."

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N-Power beneficiaries react

Following the minister's revelation, some beneficiaries shared their thoughts with Legit.ng.

Ayinde Sanusi said:

"If all the outstanding will be cleared, nothing concerns us with the backlog."

For, Onyekachukwu Chukwuka, a batch C beneficiary, he is tired of "the same story every day".

He told Legit.ng on Wednesday, November 29:

"They should just tell us that they have suspended N-Power for life."

Ibrahim Mohammed said:

"We are tired of waiting. We want to be paid as soon as possible abeg (sic)."

N-Power reveals beneficiaries that’ll be paid

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that N-Power said "all eligible beneficiaries" will be paid their outstanding stipends.

In a tweet-reply via its official handle, the N-Power scheme said Edu alongside Akindele Egbuwalo, the N-Power national programme manager, "are effortlessly working on resolving all payment issues".

Tinubu's plan for N-Power

Legit.ng also reported that Edu said the Bola Tinubu-led federal government will rejig the N-Power scheme.

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The minister made this known in a statement released by his media aide, Rasheed Zubair. Edu stated plans are underway to rejig the social investment programme to accommodate more people and ensure prompt payment of beneficiaries’ stipends.

Source: Legit.ng