FG adds 9,400 beneficiaries to N-power scheme

The Federal Executive Council has added 9,400 beneficiaries to the N-power scheme under the Social Investment Programme (SIP).

Addressing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting yesterday, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zaynab Ahmed, said the SIP had up to 9.76 million beneficiaries at the moment.

The minister said the N-power scheme had 200,000 beneficiaries already deployed as teachers, extension workers extension workers.

She said: “So, we are adding to these numbers by moving to the N-Power knowledge category. This is a category where nongraduates will be trained in skills and attached to companies, where they will gain experience during apprenticeship. The categories are three: first is a group of 2,000 beneficiaries that will be trained in software development, web development and will be equipped with devices.

“Second agriculture and health category is the supply of 3,000 devices that will be used by staff of the National Cash Transfer office at the national, state, local and Ward levels to register beneficiaries of the National Cash Transfer programme to able to record their data, BVN and their biometrics information as well as the location of where they are.

“The third approval was the training of 2,900 beneficiaries in building, construction and automobile related industries skills. This training will cover electrical installations, carpentry, joinery, welding and fabrication, plumbing and piping fitting, paintings and decoration as well as automobile technology.

“The training will be for a period of three months and also one apprenticeship attachment. At the end of the training they will be given tools related to the trade that they trained for, so that they will become self employed.

“The fourth category is the N-Power creating. It is meant to teach our youths on how to cover their creative skills into technology to be able to do animation, graphic illustration, script writing and post production activities. There will be 1,500 beneficiaries and would be trained for a period of one month and will have two months apprenticeship in a relevant company and agency that has the capacity to train them.

“At the end of this training, each of this group of beneficiaries will be going with the devices that will be provided to them. The devices will have uploaded special software specific to the skills they have acquired. Our target is that at the end of the day they will be self employed and be able to employ more people.”