Npower Permanency Bill: What you need to know

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on Thursday announced that a bill seeking continuity and sustainability of the National Social Investment Programme has been approved by the Federal Executive Council.

According to the Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouk,” the NSIP is, directly and indirectly, impacting the lives of poor Nigerians through its four cluster programmes namely: the N-POWER Programme, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) and the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCT).

“These programmes are designed to serve as various forms of social safety nets specifically targeting those at the bottom of the social ladder or those who require some form of support to enable them to become productive members of the society and finally prevent more people from falling below the poverty line.”

“The submission is to create the National Social Investment Programme as an agency, in line with Mr President’s agenda to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by the year 2030”.

The ministry noted that the Bills will now be sent to the National Assembly for legislation and passage to law and if enacted will provide the necessary statutory backing for the existing NSIP under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The news generated huge misconceptions among the readers which we ought to clear through this publication.

Here are Important Facts to know about the National Social Investment Programme (Establishment) Bill, 2022

1. The National Social Investment Programme (Establishment) Bill, 2022 when passed into law will make NSIP stand as an Agency in the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry.

There are Agencies such as National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, National Root Crops Research Institute (NCRI) in the Ministry of Health and Agriculture respectively.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development have been created to coordinate all humanitarian affairs in the country. It is established to stay just like the Ministry of Health, Agriculture, Environment etc.

Every Ministry has Departments and Agencies under it and NSIP when passed into law, will be an Agency in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

2. A new Minister will be appointed. One of the questions raised about the National Social Investment Programme (Establishment) Bill, 2022 is whether the current minister will continue in the Ministry when it is made an agency.

The answer is simple. As a Ministry, one Minister can not continue to rule over a Ministry in every Government. It is an “Appointment Position” and not an Elective Position. After the 2023 General Election, New Ministers will be appointed.

3. The National Social Investment Programme (Establishment) Bill, 2022 does not mean Permanency of any Batch of the NSIP Programmes.

It does not mean the Extention of Npower Batch C1 or C2 nor the Permanency of any Batch of the Npower Programme.

The National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) has a mandate of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by the year 2030, in line with Mr President’s agenda.

Every Batch of Npower, CCT, NHGSFP, or GEEP Loan has a specified duration.

This is to pave way for other applicants to join and benefit from the programmes.

When the bill is signed into Law, there will be other Batches of the Npower programme such as Npower Batch D, E, F, G, H etc with different Ministers assuming positions based on appointment.

As of now, there is no “announced” intention of retaining any Batch of the Npower programme because it is an Empowerment Programme and not an Employment opportunity.

Originally published by myinfoclock