N-POWER Applicants Storm and Protest at Lagos State House of Assembly

Lagos— Unemployed youths who applied to be captured in the Federal Government’s N-POWER scheme that will pay successful ones N30,000 monthly yesterday stormed the State House of Assembly in Alausa in protest the non-commencement of the programme in Lagos. This caused members of the Assembly to invite the state coordinator of the scheme to explain the delay. N-Power is a programme designed by the Federal Government to reduce youth unemployment in the country. The House also directed the Acting Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni to invite the state agency in charge of the programme to come and explain why the scheme has not started in the state. Informing the lawmakers about the protest, the Chief Whip, Mr Rotimi Abiru said that he was in the company of the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa and other lawmakers when the protesters came. Abiru said that the short-list for the scheme meant to reduce unemployment, deemed to have commenced last month was yet to take off in the state. The Chief Whip said that the protesters alleged that their counterparts in other states had started enjoying the benefits while applicants in the state had been deprived of their own entitlements. Reacting to a petition, Mr Tunde Braimoh, Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy described the situation as “appalling, embarrassing and flabbergasting”. Braimoh (APC-Kosofe II), said, “The Federal Government thought it fit to ameliorate the suffering of unemployed by introducing this programme. It is bad that some people stalled its commencement in the state. “It is bad, we should do the needful by intervening, we need to even probe what is going on with the scheme.” Mrs Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, (APC- Mushin I) said the state had a very high population of unemployed young person who applied for the programme. The Speaker of the House, however cautioned the House to thread carefully on the matter, urging the Assembly to seek more information before taking a position. Obasa said, “We need thread carefully before we take step. however, I agree that the people concerned should be invited to brief the House as people’s representatives. We need information in that respect.“