Dozens of N-Power beneficiaries on Wednesday held a rally to the Presidential Villa in Abuja to commend the Nigerian Government for establishing the scheme and other Social Intervention Programmes in the country.
Led by Concerned Citizens/N-Power Forum, participants in the rally thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for creating the scheme, which they say would lead to sustainable growth and development in the country.
According to the group in a statement, the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, National Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and N-Power, have all had a positive impact on ordinary Nigerians.
The Concerned Citizens and N-Power Forum urged Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Farouq, to ensure the expansion and sustenance of the social intervention schemes under her supervision for the benefit of more Nigerians especially the growing youth population in the country.
“These interventions have brought relief to the lives of individuals across the nook and cranny of Nigeria.
“This has catered for the needs of a large chunk of the youthful population in Nigeria. This is also a display of the understanding of the critical role of youths in the socio-economic development of Nigeria,” the group said.
In recent times, the N-Power scheme has been the subject of debate in Nigeria especially following complaints of non-payment of stipends by some beneficiaries across different parts of the country.
While some have called for its scrapping, others say it manages to provide a window of income and engagement for many of Nigeria’s growing army of unemployed youth and therefore should be sustained.
