Reps Speak on N-Power ₦30bn Stipend Payment Delay

The House of Representatives on Tuesday moved to investigate the status of over ₦30 billion recovered from the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) between 2024 and 2025, following concerns that delays in returning the funds are affecting the restart of major social intervention schemes, including N-Power, which millions of Nigerians depend on.

The decision followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Saidu Abdullahi, who represents Bida/Gbako/Katcha Federal Constituency of Niger State.

NSIPA is the agency responsible for key Federal Government social programmes such as N-Power, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, and Grants for Vulnerable Groups/Conditional Cash Transfers. These schemes are designed to reduce poverty, increase school enrolment, promote financial inclusion, and support small businesses.

President Bola Tinubu had, on January 8, 2024, suspended NSIPA operations for six weeks to allow security and anti-graft agencies investigate alleged financial mismanagement within the agency.

Moving the motion, Abdullahi explained that the probe led to the tracing, freezing, and recovery of substantial public funds from Deposit Money Banks and Payment Service Providers. The recovered funds reportedly included monies allocated for TraderMoni, MarketMoni, FarmerMoni, and Grants for Vulnerable Groups.

However, he warned that the major concern now is the delay in returning the recovered funds to NSIPA’s designated Treasury Single Account (TSA).

According to him, “credible sources have indicated that these recovered funds, estimated at over ₦30bn, have not been remitted into NSIPA’s designated Treasury Single Account, thereby stalling programme implementation and leaving millions of intended beneficiaries without the social and economic support envisioned by the Federal Government.”

Abdullahi stressed that the continued delay is undermining the present administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying the non-release of funds is slowing down poverty alleviation efforts, weakening small-scale businesses, worsening hardship in rural and urban communities, delaying local economic growth, and eroding public trust in government social protection programmes.

He also raised concerns about accountability, noting that the uncertainty surrounding the location, custodial status, and administrative handling of the recovered funds poses fiscal risks and could disrupt national social intervention timelines.

The lawmaker further disclosed that despite the lifting of NSIPA’s suspension earlier this year, the agency has not returned to full operation, allegedly due to the non-availability of the recovered funds.

“Despite the presidential approval lifting the suspension on NSIPA operations, the agency has been unable to resume full implementation of its programmes due to the non-release of recovered funds, thereby exposing millions of Nigerians to prolonged socioeconomic hardship,” he said.

The motion was put to a voice vote by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the sitting, and it was unanimously adopted.

Following the approval, the House resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate all recoveries made during the 2024–2025 probe. The committee is expected to determine the current status and custodianship of the funds, identify issues delaying their release, engage relevant agencies, and demand a clear spending plan from NSIPA. The committee is to submit its report within four weeks.

Meanwhile, in July 2025, the Senate confirmed that the Federal Government was preparing to clear the ₦81 billion backlog owed to N-Power beneficiaries for 2022 and 2023. This followed a closed-door meeting led by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin.

There is also an ongoing court case filed by former N-Power beneficiaries over unpaid stipends. The matter, initially scheduled for hearing on November 4, 2025, at the National Industrial Court in Abuja, was reportedly postponed to December 1, although this has not been officially verified.

The case, filed by Anaidu Shehu and others against the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and other agencies, remains listed for mention.

Meanwhile, the National Association of N-Power Beneficiaries has continued to appeal for the payment of the delayed stipends, describing the situation as a growing burden on young Nigerians who rely on the programme for survival.