This was contained in a statement that was signed by the Deputy Director Information in the ministry Rhoda Iliya and was made available to The Guardian in Abuja yesterday.

The statement quoted the minister in charge of the ministry Sadiya Umar Farouq, admitting that the program encountered some irregularities along the line.

She said the beneficiaries who were to spend 24 months on the program however Batch beneficiaries spent over 40 months thereby denying other Nigerians opportunity to access the programme and gain skills for entrepreneurship and employment.

The N-Power Programme was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) with the mandate to lift citizens out of poverty through capacity building, investment, and direct support.

The program is in line with the administration’s vision of lifting 100 million people out of poverty by creating opportunities to enhance the productivity of the Nigerian youth.

She said the programme has enrolled 500,000 beneficiaries so far – 200,000 from Batch A which started in September 2016 and 300,000 from Batch B which kicked off in August 2018.

Farouq said details of the proposed reform will be provided as soon as May stipend is paid to beneficiaries.

The minister explained that the ministry has concluded payment of April stipends to N-Power beneficiaries.

“Last week I promised that the stipends would be paid this week. We encountered some delays on the GIFMIS platform but I can now announce that all N-Power beneficiaries from Batch A and B have been paid their April stipends.