The Federal government says it has concluded plans to exit foremost beneficiaries of its poverty alleviation scheme from the programme.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq who confirmed this said beneficiaries of the poverty alleviation scheme, N-Power, will soon begin a gradual transition into entrepreneurship opportunities in the private sector.
Hajiya Farouq said the move, triggered after a psychometric assessment of the beneficiaries to determine their competencies is to create room for a fresh set of candidates.
A statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director, Information, Rhoda Iliya, in Abuja on Tuesday said the process will affect beneficiaries in batches A and B.
Recall that the N-Power initiative was supposedly designed to lift citizens out of poverty through capacity building, investment, and direct support under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP)
But Hajiya Farouq said, “We are engaging private sector bodies to absorb some of the beneficiaries after the completion of psychometric assessment to determine competency and placement into various opportunities.
‘‘The Federal government is committed to the continuation and expansion and as such will now begin enrolment and onboarding of a new Batch of beneficiaries. Skills acquisition for entrepreneurship and job creation is critical for an economy that will require a boost post-COVID-19 and we are gearing up proactively for the challenge.”
The current beneficiaries from Batches A and B are expected to exit the programme by July 31st 2020.
