The
presidential aide on Thursday criticised the violent attack on the Warri 1 MTN
Connect Store by N-Power volunteers who attempted to forcibly collect N-Power
devices not allocated to them.
The incident
occurred on Monday and led to the alleged assault on a pregnant staff member of
the telecommunications office in Warri, Delta.
Afolabi
Imoukhuede, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation/Youth
Employment, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria
described such action as unacceptable.
“I received
with great displeasure the report that N-Power beneficiaries in Warri bombarded
the Warri 1 MTN Connect Store for N-Power devices last Monday.
“The beneficiaries
were unruly and assaulted a pregnant staff member of MTN.
“There is no
excuse tenable for such behaviour; let me be very clear, that such behaviour is
unacceptable; there is no reason under the face of the sun for such behaviour,”
Mr. Imoukhuede stated.
According to
him, this terrible behaviour will be investigated and appropriate sanctions
will be meted out to those found to be behind this ugly incidence.
He said the
notice should also serve as a warning to other beneficiaries who might wish to
temporarily forget the acceptable conduct at the point of device collection.
“Anyone who
is caught will be dismissed immediately from the N-Power programme.
“At all
times, the interest of the beneficiaries is our utmost concern and we will
continue to address issues that distress you individually and collectively,”
the presidential aide added.
Mr.
Imoukhuede remarked that proper conduct, discipline and work place ethics are
the hallmark of the N-Power programme – skills and job enhancement creation
investment under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).
He said
“under the NSIP, our unemployed youths have an opportunity to improve their
skills and competence under a two-year Full Time Paid Volunteer programme in
their community schools, health centres or farms.”
He added
that the skills acquisition would thus empower them for gainful employment
after their exit from the programme.
Mr.
Imoukhuede recalled that the federal government entered into an Asset Finance
Agreement with the Bank of Industry to provide devices to N-Power beneficiaries
at little or no cost.
“At every
point between purchasing, pre-loading and now distribution, we have updated
beneficiaries.
“We had even
gone as far as uploading videos of the pre-loading process so beneficiaries could
witness first-hand the hard work that goes into packaging each device.
“We
similarly explained the process of shipping from the point of pre-loading to
individual states,” he added.
Consequently,
the presidential aide warned volunteers against fomenting trouble as
misconducts would not be tolerated.
The News
Agency of Nigeria reports that no fewer than 200,000 graduates nationwide have
been participating in N-Power since 2016 and earning N30,000 each monthly,
while another batch of 300,000 would soon be engaged.
(NAN)
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