Chinelo Obogo
 
 
About 2,000 Nigerian youths, on Wednesday, July 29 held a ‘Thank You Rally’ in Abuja over what they describe as the success of the N-Power scheme and other Social Intervention Programmes in the country. 
 
The rally which was led by the Concerned Citizens/N- Power Forum with participants drawn across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), they expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, for the interventions “targeted at the vulnerable and less privileged groupings in the country”. 
 
In his address, president of the forum, Ibrahim Kabiru Dallah, extolled President Buhari as a leader with the interest of the people at heart who has displayed ” an unalloyed commitment to the entrenchment of sustainable growth and development”. 
 
Dallah recalled how the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), National Cash Transfer Programme (NCTP), Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) and N-Power, in particular, have affected  Nigerians positively. 
 
According to the groups, the feat recorded has been made possible by the commitment, dedication and transparency of Farouq. 
 
The Concerned Citizens and N-Power Forum advised the minister not to relent in her service to the country, sustaining the trust of President Buhari to ensure total implementation of the various SIPs. 
 
While thanking President Buhari for the N-Power Batch A, B and incoming C, the groups pleaded that the number of intended intakes be increased from 400,000 to one million. 
 
The groups further assured the president and minister of their total support. 
 
 
“The Concerned Citizens/N-Power Forum is not oblivious of the numerous interventions that has indeed brought about the much-needed relief in the lives of these group of individuals that dots the nook and cranny of Nigeria.  
 
“The Job Creation and Youth Employment (N-Power), National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), National Cash Transfer Programme (NCTP), and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) have all proven to be invaluable in the lives of our citizens in the sense that the testimonies from these social interventions from the various states in the country are not in short supply.  
 
“The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme is feeding over 9 million pupils in 24 states in Nigeria. It has also engaged and empowered over 100,000 cooks across the country.
 
“We wish to state that this is indeed phenomenal when we considered the multiplier effect the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme has had on the ecosystem in Nigeria. This is indeed strategic and a manifestation of foresight displayed by you in steering the ship of Nigeria to greatness.  
 
“The implementation of the National Cash Transfer Programme (NCTP) has been a huge success with the payment of beneficiaries in 20 States, to 297,973 caregivers; being trained by 2,495 Community Facilitators. This is also aside from the conditional cash transfer of N20, 000 to the vulnerable households during the COVID 19 Pandemic lockdown. 
 
“The N-Power scheme is which the lives of many citizens of Nigeria have been touched. This suffices to mention that the Batch A and Batch B streams accommodated 516,600 beneficiaries from various parts of the country. These individuals have benefitted immensely as evident in the contributions they have made towards the success of the programme as well as the skills and knowledge they have gathered throughout the duration of their enlistment in the programme. 
 
“While we are still thankful for the Batch A and B streams, the introduction of the Batch C stream is indeed soul-lifting for the members of the Concerned Citizens/N-Power Forum. This is so because of the enormous impact the commencement of the Batch C stream would have in the polity.
 
” Consequently, we are using  this rally to extend our endorsement of the Batch C stream of the N-Power Programme and also to plead that the number of intended intakes is increased from 400,000 to one million to be able to accommodate more youths and touch more lives in the country.
 
“This plea is with the best of intents because as a group, we are witness to the enormous impact the N-Power initiative has had on the lives of the youths in the country. We are not by any stretch of the imagination in denial that if the number of intake for the Batch C stream is increased to the one million marks, the youths of Nigeria would be eternally grateful to you and other members of your administration that have made the N-Power initiative a huge success.
 
“As much as we are gathered here to thank the President immensely, we must not fail to bring to his notice that the success of the various Social Intervention Programmes of this administration has been made possible by the commitment, dedication and transparency of people like the Honorable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq.    
 
“The minister has been outstanding in the discharge of her duties, and her level of transparency and accountability has seen to the display of confidence in the various social intervention programmes of your administration. 
 
“We wishe to encourage her not to relent in her service to the country as the supervisory minister of the various Social Intervention Programmes and to continue to uphold the confidence and trust of President Buhari to ensure that there is 100% implementation of the various Social Intervention Programmes in the country,” the groups said.