Remember that President Bola Tinubu suspended Edu on Monday?

The humanitarian fund was allegedly sent into the minister’s personal bank account.

Grants to vulnerable populations in the states of Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Cross River, and Ogun were intended to be paid out with the N585 million.

Following the swearing-in of members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in August of last year, Edu is the first minister to be suspended from office.

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Tinubu had on Sunday, ordered the immediate probe of the Ministry to ascertain the truth in the allegations with a vow to punish anyone found culpable.

The suspension of Edu was contained in a statement on Monday by Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity),
Chief Ajuri Ngelale.

The statement reads:

“In line with his avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu suspends the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, from office with immediate effect.

“The President further directs the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder.

“The suspended Minister is hereby directed to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and she is further directed by the President to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as they conduct their investigation.

“Furthermore, the President has tasked a panel that is headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes with a view to conclusively reforming the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.

“These directives of the President take immediate effect.”

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Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, said in a statement on Friday that the job opportunity is part of the ministry’s New Year’s resolution to create more jobs for millions of Nigerians.

The minister stated that successful applicants would be dispatched to disaster zones to help with the humanitarian response.

She said the employment is for the duration of three months, noting  that the period could be extended to six months or one year, depending on the success rate.

“As part of the new year’s plans, the ministry will be hiring temporal Humanitarian aid workers and deploying them to every  location where there are humanitarian crises going forward,” she said.

“This will not only reduce unemployment but will improve our response time and the quality of response going forward.

“These people will be hired for three months in the first instance, and if the crisis is protracted, they may be made to stay 6 months or one-year maximum.”

Applicants with abilities and expertise in humanitarian crisis situations, according to the minister, will have an advantage.

She further stated that more relief commodities, including food and non-food items, have arrived in the Plateau LGAs of Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Mangu.

In the previous week, attacks on communities in the three LGAs resulted in the deaths of nearly 100 individuals.

In addition, Edward Gabkwet, spokesperson for the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), stated that the NAF will assist the humanitarian ministry in transporting relief supplies and aid workers to crisis-affected areas.

Gabkwet, who represented Chief of Air Staff Hasan Abubakar, stated that the relationship is consistent with the civil military relations service.

“Beyond security, the Nigerian Air Force provides humanitarian support to communities working with relevant government MDA’s,” he went on to say.

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This is according to the proposed supplementary budget for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) seen by Nairametrics.

In the document, the wage award for four months will cost the federal government around N210 billion while the conditional cash transfer will gulp N400 billion.

Backstory

During President Tinubu’s Independence Day address to the nation, he announced an N25,000 wage award to “low-grade workers” in the federal civil service as part of measures to avert a nationwide protest already in the pipeline by organized labour unions across the country.

However, after further negotiations with organized labour unions, the amount was increased to N35,000 and applied to all cadre of workers in the federal civil service.

Also, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and poverty alleviation has embarked on a series of interventions to address poverty and provide succour to the most vulnerable Nigerians in the wake of fuel subsidy removal and record-level inflation.

In October, the ministry launched the conditional cash transfer program aimed to transfer N25,000 to 15 million households for three months.

Also, the ministry is planning to begin the N75 billion market women fund also called the “Iyaloja” fund which will provide interest-free loans of up to N50,000 to market women across the 109 senatorial districts across the country.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and poverty alleviation said the program will commence in November.

More analysis

The removal of fuel subsidies and other reforms undertaken by President Tinubu’s reforms pushed Nigeria’s inflation rate to record levels.

The World Bank had estimated that the removal of fuel subsidies would send around 7 million Nigerians into poverty.

To mitigate this scenario, the administration of former President Buhari secured an $800 million World Bank facility for cash transfer to poor Nigerians.

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In a vote of urgent public concern on Tuesday, the House voiced concerns with the way the initiative was being handled.

The House raised concerns about the program’s lack of openness, which has resulted in dishonest behavior.

The minister is expected to provide specifics about the data collection and funding allocation.

President Bola Tinubu introduced the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer program for 15 million families in the middle of October.

The cash transfer scheme, which the President indicated will target poor residents, was launched in his first Independence Day broadcast to Nigerians on October 1, 2023.

According to the minister of humanitarian affairs, there are 62 million Nigerians among the 15 million families.

She had promised to distribute N25,000 to each beneficiary on a monthly basis for three months, totaling N75,000 for each beneficiary.

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She stated in an Abuja statement on Tuesday that the “FG Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund Registration Portal is fake” and did not come from the ministry or any other government body.

“The aforementioned portal is a forgery, created by unsavory elements with the sole intent of defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.”

”There will never be a portal from either the ministry, departments, and agencies of government or its partners to apply to access funds from the humanitarian and poverty alleviation trust fund.

”The general public is, therefore, advised to discountenance the link being circulated,” the minister said.

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This information was provided to State House reporters by Dr. Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, during a briefing on the results of the FEC meeting that took place on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Mrs. Edu stated, “We want to be able to raise at least $5 billion inside this fund each year, and this comes from a variety of sources and funds.

“We are hopeful that with the creation of this funding, we can sit down with all the key stakeholders, including other ministries and actually work out the full modalities of implementation in Nigeria”.

The minister thanked President Bola Tinubu for blessing the Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund.

” The council approved for the establishment of the Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust fund to actually be put together under a governing board.

“And then of course, the implementation of that humanitarian and poverty trust fund, would be carefully worked out by members of the committee.

” Of course, it will involve the Minister of Finance and other ministers that are relevant to the process. This is a flexible form of financing that is supposed to help Nigeria adequately respond to the humanitarian crisis.

“This will also respond to challenges as well as adequately address the issue of poverty in Nigeria and bring victory for the poor and indeed, bring help and succor which the Renewed Hope Agenda stands for,” she said.

Mrs Edu further said that the fund was a flexible form of financing that could help the government get contributions from different sectors.

She added that the fund would get contributions from the government, private sector, development partners, philanthropic individuals and other innovative form of funding.

” This is to allow for emergency response to humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. Every other day we hear about crisis, the flood and the rest of it. So we need to be able to respond adequately as a country.

” Beyond this, the issue of poverty reduction is one of the agenda of the President Bola Tinubu in his eight point agenda and we have to tackle it headlong,” she said.

The minister also revealed that the FEC has ratified the protocol on the protection of the rights of older persons in the country.

” The Federal Executive Council, where the chairman of Council and members of council took decisions to ratify the protocol on the protection of the rights of older persons in Nigeria.

” We have signed up to the African Charter and this has made us one of the countries within Africa that has approved that older people be protected and should not be discriminated against at any level.

” And this gives them a lot of protection and the government of President Bola Tinubu is interested in their welfare and protecting their rights,” the minister said.

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The National Program Manager of N-Power, Mr Akindele, made this known following a meeting held with representatives of N-Power beneficiaries.

“The good news is that the funds have been recovered yesterday and you will be getting your money soon. Payment for N-Power Beneficiaries Batch C who have been owed for eight months will begin soon,” he said.

The National Program Manager revealed that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has been working round the clock to stop irregularities within the scheme and other social investment programmes.

“These irregularities have made the common man to lose faith in the ability of Government to provide social safety cover for its population but Dr Betta Edu is engaging all necessary steps to resolve these issues and deliver the Renewed Hope Mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Nigerians.

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The N-Power scheme, started by the late President Muhammadu Buhari, aimed to give beneficiaries a monthly stipend as a lifeline in a nation with high unemployment rates.

Numerous people have lost their jobs as a result of the abrupt suspension, which has also raised questions about the government’s commitment to tackling the serious problem of teenage unemployment.

The curriculum consisted of three main components: N-Power Volunteer Corps (for graduates), N-Power Build (for non-graduates), and N-Power Knowledge (also a non-graduate programme for anyone with an interest in information and communications technologies).

Affected by about 1 million jobs

More than 500,000 young Nigerians who depended on the programme for existence are expected to be impacted by the government’s indefinite suspension of it.

200,000 young people had signed up for the scheme in Batch A, 300,000 in Batch B, 510,000 in Batch C1, and 490,000 in Batch C2, according to data received from the Humanitarian Ministry in Abuja in February. Although the exact number of beneficiaries who have left the scheme is unknown, the bulk of batches C1 and C2 were still enrolled in it when it was discontinued.

Additionally, the programme supplied teachers for numerous remote schools.

While regretting the suspension, Suleiman Abdul, one of the N-Power Knowledge Program’s Abuja participants, told newsmen on Sunday that the curriculum was incredibly helpful to young people.

“The N-Power programme was very beneficial to many people. Some individuals had never made N30,000 before, but the N-Power scheme changed their life. Even my younger sister benefits from this. Nigerians will be seriously impacted by the suspension of the programme, especially those who were intending to gain from it. Every day, graduates are graduating without jobs, he claimed.

Similar to Okeke Ruth, another beneficiary, the federal government was urged to quickly lift the suspension.

“The federal government should please lift the suspension of the programmes to give opportunities to other youths to benefit. This way, the Renewed Hope of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be achieved,” Ruth pleaded.

Mr Bulus Wakili, the village head of Zhiko in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) told our reporter that the suspension would affect the community as the only primary health care in the community is being managed by a beneficiary of N-Power.

“Honestly, the suspension would affect us in the community because our hospital is being handled by a beneficiary. The sudden suspension must be looked into,” he said.

Non-payment of stipends

In Benue State, some beneficiaries of the programme decried ill treatment occasioned by non-payment of their stipends.

The beneficiaries, who spoke to our correspondent in Makurdi, regretted that they were being owed many months, ranging between nine and 12 months.

Mary, who preferred not to mention her surname, claimed to have received only three months stipends throughout the one year she rendered service under the N-Power programme. She explained that luck was even on her side for having done her verification early enough to earn the stipends thrice because there were those who didn’t receive any payment from the federal government under the programme.

Sesugh, another beneficiary of the programme, was however, among those beneficiaries who worked for nearly one year but didn’t receive a dime in the long run.

“It is painful. I am appealing to the federal government to consider paying the several months they owe us,” he pleaded.

Meanwhile, the head teacher of Arabic Primary School, Alhaji Musa Jibril, told our correspondent on telephone that nothing changed in the absence of the N-Power staff in his institution.

“The N-Power teachers left. We haven’t seen them since the beginning of this term. It was the government who sent them to us and it is government that gives us teachers.

“Their absence has not in any way created a gap for us. We are fine with the teachers on ground,” he said.

In Kano, the Batch C, Stream II beneficiaries are the most affected as they are yet to be paid 9 months outstanding allowances.

They claimed that despite not being paid, the government decided to suspend the programme without recourse to their plight.

One of the beneficiaries who claimed to be a widow said the non-payment of the stipend compounded her woes as she could not fend for her four children.

“It is nine months and we have not seen anything; and we go to work every day. We are really suffering. The government needs to understand that we are among the less privileged members of the society.

“I am a widow with four children; and sometimes what to eat is a problem because we highly rely on this.

“Currently, I have run into a debt of N195,000, which I have to settle the moment I get my allowances.

“Secondly, my daughter will be getting married in the next two months and I have not bought anything for her. I don’t even know what to do. We are really anticipating,” she said.

She lamented the suspension of the programme without the government settling their outstanding allowances.

“We heard that the programme has been suspended; how do we deal with that? I just hope they would pay us our money because we have served already,” she said.

Suspension might affect schools

In Kwara State, some of the beneficiaries said it had been terrible coping with the situation.

They said the situation was compounded by the non-payment of their stipends.

“It is difficult to survive in this circumstance. We were owed nine months salaries. What kept me going was the hope that we would be paid after the expiration of our engagement. But now, our hope is in our mouths with this suspension,” one of them who refused to mention his name said.

One of the coordinators in Kwara State, who also pleaded that his name should not be in print said, “Those that have been suspended now are of the Batch C, Stream II, which started in October last year to end September this year.

“They are supposed to be paid for 12 months but were only paid three months —October to December last year. They didn’t receive any payment from January to September. But there is a promise to pay. Because of the situation, we don’t go hard or harsh on them. Some report once or twice weekly.”

The principal of Ilọrin Grammar School (senior), Hajiya Muslimat Abdullahi, told Daily Trust on Sunday that, “The situation cannot have any effect on the school because the programme has not been doing well for some time, and whatever complaint you give to their supervisors don’t usually yield any positive results because of the peculiarity of their situation.

“On our part, we discovered that most of the N-Power beneficiaries also work in private schools. There was a time we accepted 66 of them but they were inefficient, so we only accepted three from the suspended stream after we found out that most of them also taught in private schools. They were made to produce a surety to write an undertaking on their behalf. However, we were also handicapped when we realised that they were not paid.

“It may affect schools that accepted a high number of them and lack teachers. But the government has given us enough teachers; however, we still need some in some areas.”

Our correspondent in Maiduguri gathered that about 25,000 beneficiaries in batches C1 and C2 N-Teach were still enrolled in the scheme in Borno State.

The beneficiaries urged the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government to pay their stipends.

An N-Power-teach beneficiary, Suliat Adeyemo, said the non-payment of their nine-month stipends had brought untold hardship to them.

“I am highly disappointed with the recent pronouncement by the minister, to say the least. We have worked for nine months without pay,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Abba Saheed said, “We are being owed for months, a situation that has left many of us stranded. It is unfortunate that the Tinubu administration has failed us.”

Programme lacks accountability

A beneficiary of the programme in Ondo State who pleaded anonymity said there was the need to reassess its purpose.

He said, “It is a laudable project, especially in creating a source of income for youths without meaningful engagement. The stipends meant a lot to us, but I think the government should look at a better way of exiting beneficiaries. Government should also monitor the posting of beneficiaries to where they are needed,” he said.

He noted that some beneficiaries did not go to their places of primary assignment because they had arrangements with their supervisors, who in turn got financial benefits from them.

Why we suspended scheme – Minister

Meanwhile the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, who announced the indefinite suspension of the programme during a live interview on TVC News, said it had been marred by irregularities.

She noted that some of the beneficiaries of the programme were not found in their places of assignment, yet they were receiving monthly stipends.

Edu added that the government had launched an investigation into the utilisation of funds since the inception of the scheme.

In a subsequent communiqué signed by the national programme manager, N-Power, Dr Akindele Egbuwalo on behalf of the minister, it was noted that, “It is imperative to inform Nigerians, particularly beneficiaries of the N-Power programme across the country, of its temporary suspension.

“This action has become necessary to give room for a detailed investigation into the operations of N-Power in the last 12 months. The total number of persons enrolled on the programme since inception to date is 960,000 people. Most of them have exited from N-Power 1.0 and N-Power 2.0, batches A and B.

“There is a need to audit the number of people in the programme—those who have exited, those who are being owed, whether they reported to work or not, and how funds have been utilised over this period of time.”

The communiqué added that the ministry had discovered instances of beneficiaries whose participation lapsed since 2022 but had remained and continued to expect payments from the government while not honouring their obligations to the scheme.

“They did not report to their places of primary assignment as required but still received monthly payments. Some have other jobs and left this bracket but still benefitted from the payments, while those who truly worked are not paid,” it added.

While acknowledging that graduate and non-graduate volunteers of batches C1 and C2 are in this category, it noted that an audit would offer the opportunity to establish the exact number of people owed, thereby eliminating ghost beneficiaries.

“Preliminary findings of our audit have shown that some consultants are holding on to beneficiaries’ funds disbursed to them long ago, even when their contract ended in March 2023 without any renewal. We condemn this practice and will not tolerate it going forward. Work is ongoing to identify those involved, understand why the payments didn’t get to the final beneficiaries and recall the funds to pay those owed.

“We appeal to Nigerians to understand the rationale behind the temporary suspension and investigation of the programme as we work to restore the country’s confidence in the programme and for the new N-Power to serve Nigerians better. Things have to be properly done for us to move forward,” the communiqué noted.

It hinted that the restructuring and transformation would also birth an expanded programme to reach beneficiaries aged 18 to 40, targeting 5million people in five years at a pace of 1million per year under the graduate and non-graduate stream.

“In addition, the restructuring will accommodate some new programmes in education, health, works, agriculture, technology, fashion, entertainment and other relevant areas of skills acquisition and employability.

“To earn the confidence of Nigerians in the expanded programme, transparency and accountability will be the benchmark. It shall no longer be business as usual as we make concerted efforts to put the country on the right footing, ensuring that no one directly or indirectly unleashes suffering on Nigerians.

“We assure all beneficiaries with genuine claims that we will resolve their cases once we complete the verification exercise. We will honour all valid outstanding obligations. Nobody will be owed,” the communiqué added.

When contacted, Mr Rasheed Olanrewaju, the special assistant to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, said they were studying the activities of the past administration.

8 months’ debts to be paid soon – Minister

But the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation said it had recovered funds held by the consultant for several months.

The national programme manager of N-Power, Mr Akindele, made this known following the meeting held with representatives of beneficiaries.

“The good news is that the funds have been recovered yesterday and you will be getting your money soon.

“Payment for Batch C beneficiaries who have been owed for eight months will begin soon,” he said

Akindele revealed that the minister had been working round the clock to arrest irregularities in N-Power and other social investment programmes.

“These irregularities have made the common man to lose faith in the ability of  the government to provide social safety cover for its population, but Dr Betta Edu is engaging all necessary steps to resolve these issues and deliver the Renewed Hope Mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Nigerians.

“Many irregularities, which hitherto sabotaged the smooth implementation of the programme, are being addressed. It would be recalled that on assumption of duty, it was noted that many beneficiaries did not receive payment for their monthly allowances while monies were being held up by the consultant managing the enrollment and payment system, whose contract had long expired. The good news is that the money has been recovered and it would allow for payment of beneficiaries,” he assured.

This and more are irregularities the minister is committed to resolving so as to create a good foundation upon which the Renewed Hope N-Power will expand to reach 5million young Nigerians.

Akindele called on Nigerians to be patient as the restructuring was in their best interest as it would lead to an expansion that would accommodate millions of young people.

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The federal government has suspended the scheme and launched an investigation, according to Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction, who made the announcement on Sunday.

One of the social investment initiatives (SIPs) established by the government of the late President Muhammadu Buhari to alleviate unemployment in the nation is N-Power.

The committee’s chairman, Kaka Shehu, stated he would demand the N-Power be reinstated if the investigation reveals that the suspension was not in Nigerians’ best interests.

He stated that after hearing from the pertinent ministries, divisions, and agencies (MDAs), the committee would respond appropriately.

“For now, I’m yet to receive the official briefing on the suspension and the substitution of a new programme,” Shehu said on Wednesday during the inauguration of the committee.

“I don’t want to comment on that but as a lawmaker saddled with the responsibility of this committee, I will study the enabling law that brought N-power as well as the bill that is before us that scaled second reading.

“If there is no overlap and it is out, and the suspension was in the best interest of Nigerians, I will allow it to go.

“But where the suspension is not in the best interest of Nigerians, you will see me shouting on the floor that we should bring it back.

“I will not comment on whether we are going to investigate or not until after receiving briefs from the relevant MDAs.”

The senate is currently considering a bill that would move SIPs from the humanitarian ministry to the presidency.

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