Why the Fedral Goverment Should Grant Npower Volunteers Permanency

Recently, there have been growing agitation by beneficiaries of the federal government Social Investment Programme,














Npower, who want the Federal Government to absorb them into the federal civil service at the completion of their two year period in the scheme. Going by Npower rules of engagement, the first set of beneficiaries who were engaged in December 2016 will be due to bow out in November this years. Under the scheme, graduates and non-graduates applicants are recruited into various categories of the programme such as N-Teach, N-Health, N-Agro and N-Tax.



Other categories which targets mostly non-graduates are N-Build and N-Tech. The reason for this persistent agitation is not farfetched.


 Many of the beneficiaries had roamed the streets in search of job for years before the President Mohammadu Buhari-led APC federal government conceived and implemented the npower volunteer corps as part of its social investment programme designed to encourage skill acquisition and entrepreneurship among Nigeria youths.


Though the monthly stipend volunteers are paid is too small to cater for their basic needs talk more of encouraging savings, it brought hope and joy to thousands of Nigeria youths who previously had no reason to expect bank alert from the federal government at the end of the month.


 While we commend the President Buhari-led federal government and the office of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo that manages the npower programme for such a laudable initiative, it is our considered view that these beneficiaries deserve urgent attention due consideration. These volunteers have been working tirelessly in their respective places of primary assignment. For many of them, this is the first time they are given the opportunity to prove themselves; and they have done so with zeal and unreserved dedication.


 Their presence in our school brought hope and succor to our children who previously lacked teachers to handle different subjects. Although volunteers are posted to work as assistant teachers, majority of them, our findings reveal, now handle two or more subjects in two to three classes as the subject teachers. Their presence, as expected, reduced to barest minimum, the very wide gap in teacher-students ratio.


As health extension workers in our communities, they have consistently carried out health education and sensitization of rural people on the dangers of different epidemics and benefits of healthy living. They also engage in immunization exercise, thereby saving government the millions spent on temporary health workers during immunization programmes annually.

The story is the same among N-Agro volunteers and those in other categories. Naturally, these beneficiaries are currently gripped by fear of being thrown into the streets once again. They have envisioned going back to the status of ‘applicants’ and roaming the streets in search of non-existent jobs. One can only imagine the situation unless he or she is one of them. Only those who have been in their shoes can feel their pain.


 As the nation’s unemployment rate in persistently moving upward, releasing the ex-volunteers into the labour market will only amount to disservice to all who are now benefitting from the services of these volunteers and indeed every Nigerian; since injustice done to one is injustice done to all.


 We suggest that government should immediately commence collection of biometric data of all active volunteers and begin to make budgetary provision for their absorption into the civil service. Only those volunteers found to have been active in their various PPAs are qualified to benefit from such gesture.