Buhari’s administration was transparent with N-Power funds, says ex-minister’s aide

Nneka Anibeze, special assistant to Sadiya Umar Farouq, the former minister of humanitarian affairs, says the administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was transparent with the N-Power funds.

It was reported that the national programme manager of N-Power, at an event, had said looted funds from the social investment scheme were recovered from the consultants engaged by Buhari’s administration.

Reacting in a statement on Thursday, Anibeze said clarifications must be made regarding the allegations.

Anibeze said Farouq “inherited the national social investment programmes, which included N-Power and successfully administered the batch C1 graduate programme which she extended by an additional three months, releasing funds in February 2023”.

Anibeze said batch C1 graduate volunteers had an exit package of three months extension from September to November 2022.

She added that batch C2 graduate volunteers who commenced in October 2022 were meant to exit their 12 months in September 2023.

She said 90 percent of the beneficiaries in batch C1 received their stipends within three days of fund release, while the remaining experienced delays due to discrepancies in their bank records.

“These discrepancies were actively being resolved through a rigorous validation process where validation links were sent to affected volunteers for validation,” the statement reads.

“Batch C1 consists of 450,000 graduate beneficiaries and 60,000 non-graduate trainees.

“Batch C1 commenced in September 2021 and exited in August 2022 with an exit package of three months for September, October and November 2022. The exit package was approved and paid in February 2023.

“Batch C2 consists of 440,000 graduate beneficiaries and 50,000 non-graduate trainees and commenced in October 2022 to exit in September 2023.

“They were paid 3 months arrears of October, November and December 2022. The payment of the 3 months’ arrears was made in the month of February 2023.

”Funds were released for 440,000 beneficiaries, with nearly 50% receiving their payments promptly within three days in February 2023. An additional 250,000 applicants were revalidated to reach the programme’s total number.”

‘BATCHES NOT PAID DUE TO NON-RELEASE OF FUNDS’

Anibeze added that at the time of Farouq’s exit, “approximately 71% of Batch C2 Graduate beneficiaries had received their payments while the remaining payments were in progress, pending completion of record validation”.

She said funds were approved and released for three months from October to December 2022 only, while the batch C2 programme was expected to exit in September 2023.

“From January 2023 till the exit date of September 2023 (9) months, the batch C2 beneficiaries have not been paid their stipends owing to non-release of funds. The programme is for 12 months and only 3 months stipends have been released for the graduate scheme,” she said.

“The non-graduate batch C1 are still owed 2 months stipends for the N-Build component while non-graduate for C2 have not been paid any stipends as funds have not been released for that purpose.

“For the benefit of the Nigerian people, a comprehensive exit plan was developed for Batch C1 beneficiaries, including onboarding to the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Program (GEEP) to provide entrepreneurship opportunities.

“Additionally, a proposal for the Worknation program was in place to connect N-Power graduates with potential employers, ensuring long-term program sustainability through the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“The last administration remains committed to transparency, program success and ensuring that public funds are disbursed responsibly.”