The enrolment for a new set (Batch C) of N-Power beneficiaries will kick off on 26th June, the Nigerian government declared Friday.
The online portal for the programme, it said, would open for applications beginning from noon of 26th June with applicants expected to provide their Bank Verification Number for the purpose of transparency.
Launched in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari under the National Social Investment Programme, N-Power aims to lift poor Nigerians out of penury via direct support, capacity building and investment.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development said the commencement of Batch C enrolment was a product of consultations, noting that the plan emerged after a review of the submissions on the reform and realignment of the programme for greater efficiency.
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“Batch C is also being enrolled to provide opportunities for more youths to access the programme in furtherance of the President’s vision of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by creating opportunities to enhance the productivity of youths for entrepreneurship,” the document read in part.
According to the ministry, Batch A beneficiaries will exit the programme on 30th June while the counterparts in Batch B will follow suit on 31st July. Past beneficiaries are not qualified to participate in Batch C.
“We have commenced the transitioning of beneficiaries from Batches A and B into government entrepreneurship schemes.
“We are also engaging private sector bodies to absorb some of the beneficiaries after the completion of psychometric assessment to determine competency and placement into various opportunities,” Sadiya Umar-Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
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