Breaking: N-Power beneficiaries blackmailing FG, demanding N300bn grant – Official

Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, which is saddled with the responsibility of facilitating the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) has said that the federal government is being blackmailed by a group of people claiming to be N-Power beneficiaries.

Some N-Power beneficiaries staged a protest at the National Assembly Thursday, demanding for payment of outstanding allowances owed them by the federal government, which they said run into months. 

However, in a statement made available to Blueprint in Abuja Friday, which was signed by Deputy Director (Information), Rhoda Ishaku Iliya, the Ministry said the protesters requested the federal government to employ all the 500,000 beneficiaries as well as pay them a grant of N600, 000 each, “which is not possible”. 

The statement reads: “The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, observed on Thursday 23rd of July 2020, a rally at the National Assembly which later proceeded to the Federal Secretariat Complex. 

“The protesters claimed to be representatives of the Federal Government’s N-Power beneficiaries that are about to be exited. They requested the Federal Government to employ all the 500,000 beneficiaries as well as pay them a grant of N600, 000 each. 

“The Ministry wishes to state that this demand was not part of the agreement of engagement they signed with the Federal Government, which clearly stipulated that they will be exited after 2 years.

“Furthermore, the government cannot afford the N300 billion they were asking for as grant. It is noteworthy to state that the FGN has expended hundreds of billions to N-Power beneficiaries during the last 4 years and is liaising with the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, which is responsible for the payment of their stipends, to ensure that any outstanding legitimate claim is settled. 

“The federal government cannot afford to continue to pay the exited N-Power beneficiaries stipends indefinitely, more so that the process of engagement of new beneficiaries has already began.

“The Ministry, even though it is not a lending agency, is in contact with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as CBN and NALDA, to see if the exited beneficiaries can key into their empowerment programmes.”

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