Exposed!! Affected N-power Volunteers Tackle FG Over 5,781 Sacked Beneficiaries

After the Federal Government declared that it has forcefully exited over 5, 781 N-power beneficiaries for truancy and for absconding, OsunReporters News started digging deeper into the matter as one of the means to clear the air from both parties.

After perusing the claim if the Federal Government through Afolabi Imoukheude who is the Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation, who said the affected beneficiaries already lost the grace of fair-hearing given to them after some abnormalities were discovered while working as N-power Volunteers, our findings exposes some abnormalities on the side of the some affected personalities while some were unjustly exited by the agent of the Federal Government from the programme.

As stated in Abuja while addressing the beneficiaries, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President Mohammadu Buhari on Job Creation and Youth Employment, Afolabi Imoukheude, claiming that the complaints received from the primary places of assignment of the affected beneficiaries over truancy and lackadaisical attitude were getting overwhelming and even when they were written letters to explain themselves most of them did not comply, so government had to excuse them.

FORCEFUL EXITED OF 5,781 BENEFICIARIES

According to him; “When we get report of people who play truancy we usually place you on payment hold. In  N-power you learn, work and earn. If you do not do the right thing and you are paid, you are stealing the money. Note that the funds are not mine but that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We have been receiving enormous complaints that a lot of you no longer go to work. The head teacher in your Primary Place of Assignment (PPA) is your Buhari and have the responsibility to teach, monitor and educate you.

“I have some good news for most of you, 5,781 of you have been forcefully exited out of the programme because of disciplinary issues. Perhaps you will begin to believe that states have authority over you. We also receive report of those who absconded and you know the terms and conditions attached to be an N-power beneficiary,” Afolabi explained.

N-POWER BENEFICIARIES REACT ON DISENGAGEMENT FROM PROGRAMME

During the interview conducted for some affected beneficiaries in Osun, Nsarawa, Lagos, Kogi and Edo States by OSUNREPORTERS, it was discovered that efforts made by most beneficiaries that were put on hold to rescue the situation were not pursue or process by the state Focal Person in many states while that of Osun State also went through the office of the state National Orientation Agency (NOA).

LAGOS STATE: “Let me tell you the truth, they knew that some people might have died, got a better job, traveled out of the country but still collecting the stipend. Since there is no mechanism to know this, they decided to put people on hold randomly. They later created a window of 45-day ultimatum for the affected volunteers to prove their innocence. The window was for them to get a clearance and attestation letter duly stamped from our PPAs which some of us did but still went ahead to deliberately exit us from the programme,” the victim explained.

Attestation letter from PPA

OSUN STATE: “In other to prove that we have not absconded. The attestation letter collected from our PPA were to be collated and forwarded to Abuja by the State Focal Person for exoneration and rectification. We did the necessary things as directed but surprisingly, the woman refused to act on it until the 45-day ultimatum lapsed. She didn’t forward anything to Abuja for more three months. We also went to the office of National Orientation Agency (NOA) for same process, they also claimed to have sent our names to Abuja but no positive response. Latter, N-power claimed that we have finally exited from the scheme,” N-power exited victim said.

Evidence from the beneficiary’s porter

Another victim from Osun explained the political undertone behind the disengagement of some beneficiaries especially in Osun State. He said, “Despite my punctuality at my PPA, I was unfairly disengaged from the programme. I must confess this, it was because of rigidity of some of us who decided to turn back from using us for their selfish political gain during the last election, that is why those who worked at State Npower office in the administration of the former Osun governor deliberately recommended our disengagement,” he exposed.

READ ALSO: Osun Government Begins Recruitment Of Teachers (check how to apply, closing date)

EDO STATE: “I was surprised to notice the sign of exit from the N-power programme on my porter, but the reason was not stated why I was removed. God will judge them all.”

KOGI STATE: “This is one of the reasons why Nigeria cannot move forward. How can they put us on hold and requested for attestation letter from where we are working and those in charge failed to submit the letter to the appropriate authority in Abuja for confirmation, and the next thing is to delete our names from N-power and told us not to ask any question. If I have the power, I will surely take this issue to court,” Victim threatened.

Evidence of forceful exit

BAYELSA STATE: “I have never worked under under any government in my life and N-power claimed I got a new job that is why I was disengaged from the programme. They’ve turned me to job seeker since then and I haven’t secure any. Buhari should also fight corruption in N-power programme.”

Evidence from N-power porter

ON GHOST N-POWER VOLUNTEERS

The Senior Special Assistance also stated that contrary to insinuations that ghost workers have taken over the scheme,  registration processes were too strict to accommodate ghost workers.

READ MORE: N-POWER PROTEST; Govt Responds To Beneficiaries Plea For Permanency

“There has been so many insinuations around ghost workers in N-power. There is no ghost workers in N-power, there cannot even be because having conducted a physical verification and confirming those who come into the programme for them not to exist. What happens to those who do not receive alert? It is because of validation and we try to contact you via phone number, email address to go regularise yourself with your bank and update your details,” he concluded.

Our searchlight also beamed on how and when more than N170m monthly stipends meant for 5,781 exited beneficiaries would start going back the federal government’s purse? (topic for another day).

Source: OsunReportersNG.com