By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi
N-Power Scheme beneficiaries under the Social Investment Pogramme (SIP) of the Federal Government have staged a peaceful demonstration in Bauchi to press home their demand for the disbursement of funds promised them to start their skillfully trained individual businesses.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria had last March organized an entrepreneurship training for beneficiaries of N-Power programme when they were each directed for to indicate his/her business plan with a promise for funds disbursement to establish own business.
National leader of the N-Power beneficiaries, Comrade Bashir Usman Gobir told the press during the protest that the federal government should as a matter of urgency fulfill its promise made to them through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs for the funds disbursement.
“We constitute 500, 000 beneficiaries of batch A and B of the programme enlisted in 2016 and 2017 by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs who were promised starter funds to commence our individual chosen businesses so as to become self-reliance, and even become employers of labour”, Gobir said.
Gobir recalled that prior to the 2019 general elections when the SIP programme was under the supervision of the office of Vice President then headed by an officer Mr. Afolabi, the N-Power beneficiaries were told that their PVCs would be sureties for giving them permanent appointments into federal civil services after successful voting of the Buhari administration for a second term tenure.
According to him, after the elections precisely in March 2020, an entrepreneurship training was organized for them by the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria when they were promised funds disbursement to kick-start their differently chosen businesses to fend for a living.
“It was during that period we were promise that some of us would be blessed with permanent appointments into the services of the federal government while others would be disbursed some funds to establish own businesses towards becoming self-reliance.
He explained that based on that arrangement, a portal was opened for them to put in their details through which they would be adjudged for either permanent appointment into the services of the government or funds disbursement to establish a business for self-reliance.
Gobir, who was based in Sokoto, said they deliberately decided to stage the demon in Bauchi marital home of the minister, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk in the thinking that their message would efficiently and effectively impact on her to take prompt action, and transact over the issue once and for all.
He also recalled that sometimes in March this year, another set of training on various skills acquisition was organized for 300, 000 participants who after were issued certificates, and PDFs in respect of their individual Local Governments.
“Out of the figured trained, a number of 8, 900 were listed for payments, but only a fraction of them were paid the sum of N150, 000 for three consecutive months thus totaling N450, 000 for each of the selected number, and ever since none of the N-Power beneficiaries was paid a singly kobo”.
Gobir therefore, appealed to the federal government to as a matter of urgency provide the necessary fund the programme promised each and every of the 500, 000 N-Power beneficiary whether or not skillfully trained to establish own business for livelihood.
