Youth empowerment

Some beneficiaries of the N-Power Programme in Ebonyi State say the scheme has impacted positively on their lives and those who benefit from services they render at their various Places of Primary Assignment (PPA).

Mr Justice Bibiye, Communications Manager, National Social Investment Office, NSIO, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the beneficiaries spoke from their PPA via individual video recordings made available to NSIO.

The N-Power Programme was introduced in 2016 by the President Buhari Administration as a job enhancement scheme.

It was aimed at imbibing the learn-work-entrepreneurship culture in Nigerian youth between 18 and 35 for graduates, as well as for non-graduates.

The N-Power beneficiaries in Ebonyi, many of whom were enlisted since 2016, commended the Federal Government for the initiative which was making a difference in the lives of thousands of young people across the country.

Miss Okuchi Okechukwu, a beneficiary deployed to Urban Community Primary School in Abakiliki, said beyond the knowledge and experience gained by being engaged to teach under the Scheme, she had also been able to deploy resources earned to improve her small scale business.

”I teach Primary Two Pupils who are mostly from the Hausa Community.

”Since I assumed duty here, I have made a lot of positive impact on the lives of these pupils.

“I am most grateful for this opportunity; the programme has changed my financial status and improved my bakery business; thank you President Buhari for this opportunity,’’ She said.

Miss Ude Victoria, another beneficiary in the state, said monthly stipends she received as a beneficiary of the programme had in no small measure boosted her soya beans trade.

“I learnt how to make soya beans a long time ago, but due to lack of funds, I couldn’t do anything.

“Thank God for this N-Power job which has helped me raise some money to invest in my business,’’ she said.

For Mr Igwe Jude, an N-Teach Volunteer Batch A (2016) in Abakiliki, the experience of being enlisted in the programme had been worthwhile.

He said that the scheme provided a platform to sharpen his skills for higher responsibilities in future.

“I teach Chemistry here in Urban Modern Secondary School in Abakiliki, Ebonyi State.

“This school is the biggest secondary school in Ebonyi State so they have lots of students.

”When we came in, they didn’t have enough teachers, and so our deployment helped a great deal.

“It has been a good experience because as we teach the students, we also learn from them as well,’’ Jude said.

Mr Obodo Anthony, one of the N-build volunteers working in one of the automobile servicing companies in the state, said within a short period of his internship as an automobile trainee he was gradually becoming an expert in car maintenance services.

500,000 youths, spread across the 774 LGAs of the country are currently enrolled in the graduate programme.

They were since deployed to teach in public schools, act as health workers in primary health centres and also as agricultural extension advisors to small holder farmers in the communities.

Beneficiaries, under the graduate category, take home N30, 000 monthly allowance for their services.

The whole idea is to engage the young Nigerians and expose him/her to the work environment with a view to helping them acquire relevant skills and experiences for future endeavours.

The selection and payment processes are insulated from subjectivity, being technology-driven.

A level-playing field has been created for engagement with the programme, while payment is effected directly into the accounts of the successful candidates.