IT is no more news that the N-Power programme initiated by the Federal Government to reduce the unemployment in the country has become operational. The list of successful applicants was published early in December, 2016. Then, many Nigerians were jubilating as the list was assumed to be free from political influences.
On this note, we want to intimate the N-Power authorities and the general public that the successful N-Power volunteers in Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State, a total of 153 persons, were verified at the appropriate dates (8th, 9th and 12th December, 2016) and the update of bank accounts details followed. This exercise was conducted by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the National Youth Service (NYSC) nationwide. We have since been deployed to our various places of assignment.
To our dismay, however, volunteers in most of other local governments got their December stipends early in January, 2017 but till now, only three volunteers from Isokan Local Government who reportedly missed the verification exercise on the scheduled dates but proceeded to the state headquarters in Osogbo to get verified got their December stipends.
We did everything humanly possible to correct this anomaly but to no avail, only to listen to an N-Power bigwig in Osun State saying that the N-Power authorities could not pay in retrospect and that only those who got verified were paid their December stipends.
It really surprised us that while N-Power volunteers from other states who are yet to be deployed are being paid, we that have started working were not captured in the payment. It is our firm belief that Isokan Local Government is an integral part of Nigeria and we cannot condone any iota of perversity. We hereby implore the concerned authorities to expedite action and ensure that our stipends are released to us from December 2016 to date.
We do not want to conclude that this programme is another political game.
Ismaila Oyehan