Bola Tinubu Colloquium: The Unique Insight, Impact And Lessons From FG Respective Social Investment Programmes

At the just concluded 10th Bola Tinubu Colloquium themed Investing in people, spotlight was shed on the N-Power programme and the impact it has made in communities across Nigeria. Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede spoke about the N-Power and where the programme is at now.

We sat down with the cluster heads of the various social investment programmes and they gave us a unique insight into the coverage, impact and lessons from their respective social investment programmes.

N-Power Programme:
NPower which is for young Nigerians between the ages of 18 to 35 is an intervention programme that is already addressing the challenge of youth unemployment. NPower provides the structure for large scale and relevant work skills acquisition and development while linking its core outcomes to fixing inadequate public services and stimulating the larger economy.

Where are we now

• 200,000 graduates have been engaged and given devices entered Into an Asset Finance Agreement with the Bank of industry to provide each
• NPower Beneficiary  device pre loaded With content from Cisco, Google. Microsoft and Learn Africa
• Each device has over one million resources for learning and comes with free internet subscription
• 300,000 graduates have been selected and physically verified
• In its commitment to revive Nigeria’s apprenticeship culture. the Federal Government has spent 1.4 billion on Tools and Training Consumables.

The Future of the Programme

• The Federal Government is extending the N Power programme to reach our young ones through NPower Junior
• The Federal Government is equipping our youths with the skills and support to lead in the technology space through N Power Tech
• The Federal Government will equip our young people with creative and technology skills through NPower Creative
• 300,000 N Power Beneficiaries will be deployed this year
• More NPower Build Beneficiaries will be deployed

What has been the most fulfilling part of working on NPower?
The most fulfilling part of working on N Power for me, is the opportunity to witness firsthand the hope that accompanies smiles when young people are offered placement in the programme.  President Muhammadu Buhari’s noble commitment to people Investment has opened the doors of dignity to the unemployed and renewed hope that it is possible for the people to be the priority of the Federal Government.

Is there a link between N-Power and other Social Investment Programmes?
Yes, there is a link between N-Power and other social investment programmes. NPower volunteers are for example, encouraged to seek for start up fund from the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), GEEP is a micro-lending intervention that targets traders, artisans, enterprising youth, farmers and wowen by providing loans ranging from 10.000 to 100,000 Naira at no monthly cost to beneficiaries.

In addition, NPower Volunteers serve as enumerators & data collectors for the National Home Grown School Feeding (NHGSP) and the Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes of the National social Investment Programme (NSIP)

What roles can States, Local Governments and other Non-Governmental entities play in N-Power
Many States, Local Governments and other non governmental entities are synergizing With the Federal Government by producing the conducive environment and other logistics support for the survival and sustainability of the NPower programme. In addition, they can improve the support for the programme by way of the provision of basic Infrastructural, Financial and Human capacity resource for effective Implementation and Monitoring.

In the Words of those at the Forefront

an insight from the cluster heads of the social investment programme

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