October 19, 2017

The Presidency on Thursday criticised the violent attack on the Warri 1 MTN Connect Store by N-Power volunteers who attempted to forcibly collect N-Power devices not allocated to them.

The incident occurred on Monday and led to the alleged assault on a pregnant staff member of the telecommunications office in Warri, Delta.

Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede, the  Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation/Youth Employment, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) described such action as unacceptable.

“I received with great displeasure the report that N-Power beneficiaries in Warri bombarded the Warri 1 MTN Connect Store for N-Power devices last Monday.

“The beneficiaries were unruly and assaulted a pregnant staff member of MTN.

“There is no excuse tenable for such behavior; let me be very clear, that such behavior is unacceptable; there is no reason under the face of the sun for such behavior,’’ Imoukhuede stated.

According to him, this terrible behaviour will be investigated and appropriate sanctions will be meted out to those found to be behind this ugly incidence.

He said the notice should also serve as a warning to other beneficiaries who might wish to temporarily forget the acceptable conduct at the point of device collection.

“Anyone who is caught will be dismissed immediately from the N-Power programme.

“At all times, the interest of the beneficiaries is our utmost concern and we will continue to address issues that distress you individually and collectively,’’ the presidential aide added.

Imoukhuede remarked that proper conduct, discipline and work place ethics are the hallmark of the N-Power programme – skills and job enhancement creation investment under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).

He said, ” under the NSIP, our unemployed youths have an opportunity to improve their skills and competence under a two-year Full Time Paid Volunteer programme in their community schools, health centres or farms.’’

He added that the skills acquisition would thus empower them for gainful employment after their exit from the programme.

Imoukhuede recalled that the Federal Government entered into an Asset Finance Agreement with the Bank of Industry to provide devices to N-Power beneficiaries at little or no cost.

“At every point between purchasing, pre-loading and now distribution, we have updated beneficiaries.

“We had even gone as far as uploading videos of the pre-loading process so beneficiaries could witness first-hand the hard work that goes into packaging each device.

“We similarly explained the process of shipping from the point of pre-loading to individual states,’’ he added.

Consequently, the presidential aide warned volunteers against fomenting trouble as misconducts would not be tolerated.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 200,000 graduates nationwide have been participating in N-Power since 2016 and earning N30,000 each monthly, while another batch of 300,000 would soon be engaged.