By Nafisat Makinde
The Nigerian Senate has confirmed that the Federal Government will pay the outstanding N81 billion owed to N-Power beneficiaries for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years. This is a significant development for the beneficiaries who have been waiting for their allowances for a long time.
This announcement was made on Tuesday, following a closed-door meeting convened by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin. The meeting involved officials from the Federal Government, representatives of the aggrieved N-Power beneficiaries, and their legal counsel, Abba Hikima.
“The government owes my clients about N81 billion. The minister has assured us that once the 2025 budget implementation kicks off, payments will commence.” – Abba Hikima, Legal Counsel to N-Power Beneficiaries
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, also commented on the issue. “We acknowledge that we owe them. These arrears were part of the 2022 and 2023 recurrent budgets, but there was no provision for them in the 2024 and 2025 budgets.”
Kehinde James, Chairman of N-Power Beneficiaries, expressed his gratitude. “We approached the service-wide vote and got an approval late last year. Now, we’re working to activate the payment in the current fiscal year. As a responsible government, we will resolve this before the year ends.”
Senator Barau Jibrin, Deputy Senate President, assured the beneficiaries that the government is committed to resolving the issue. “The beneficiaries came here to the Senate to seek my intervention. I called the minister, and he responded positively. We held a very fruitful discussion that assured the beneficiaries that the government is actively making preparations to settle the backlog.”
Finally, Senator Barau Jibrin emphasized the government’s commitment to its Renewed Hope Agenda. “This is a responsive government under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, and no one will be denied what is rightfully theirs.”
