The federal government, has announced the suspension of N-Power program indefinitely.
Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, disclosed this during an interview on TVC News on Saturday.
According to Edu, the decision was taken following some irregularities within the scheme.
The N-Power was an initiative of the past administration of Mr Muhammadu Buhari.
Edu said the government has launched an investigation into the utilization of funds since the program’s inception.
She stated that some beneficiaries are not found in their place of assignment, yet they expect monthly stipends.
According to her, some beneficiaries should have exited the program in 2022 but are still on the payroll.
Her words, “We must go back to look into N-Power and understand what the problems are, so we will basically suspend the program for now until we are done with proper investigation into the utilization of funds into the N-Power program.
“We want to know how many persons are basically on the program right now, how many persons are owed, the amount they are owed. We are totally restructuring the N-Power and expanding it.
“There are lots going on. We met people who were supposed to have exited the program last year and are still claiming that they are still teaching.
“Sometimes we contact the school or the places where they are working, and they are not there. They are not working yet; they keep claiming that they are being owed eight or nine months’ stipends.
“About 80 per cent of them are not working, yet they are claiming salaries.”