The sum of ₦977.7m has been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Thursday for the beneficiaries of N-Power.
The amount approved is meant for the N-Creative and N-Tech trainings to empower 3,500 beneficiaries in Northern and Southern Nigeria, respectively.
Sen. Udo Udoma, the Minister of Budget and National Planning after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja briefed State House correspondents and in the course disclosed this.
According to Udoma, the N-Creative and N-Tech trainings were part of the National Social Investment Programme(NSIP).
The minister however listed four thematic areas of the N-Creative training and their respective beneficiary distributions as script writing—150 beneficiaries, graphic illustration—375 beneficiaries, animation-750 beneficiaries and post-production-225 beneficiaries, NAN reports.
“We submitted two memos to the council both on the National Social Investment Programme(NSIP).
“The first was for the award of consultancy service contract for the provision of training services and integrated supply of starter packs for N-Creative trainees in the Northern States of Nigeria under NSIP in the N652.3 million inclusive of five per cent VAT.
“Basically, the N-Creative training service is to be held in Abuja; it will be delivered to 1,500 beneficiaries with integrated starter packs distributed to trainees at end of that training.
“The second memo was again, under the NSIP.
“It was for the award of consultancy service contract for provision of training services and integrated supply of starter packs for the N-Tech Software trainees in Southern Nigeria under the NSIP in the sum of N325.4 million.
“It is software training service; the N-Tech will have 2,000 beneficiaries,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government’s N-Power scheme currently engages no fewer than 500,000 youth graduates deployed to provide public health services in teaching, health, agriculture and tax and monitoring.
It also engages another 200,000 non-graduates in training or on attachment to organizations as interns.