N-Power: Convert campaign/constituency offices to cafe to ease registration – Northern group tells politicians

Sola Ojo, Kaduna

A coalition of Northern Civil Society groups on Thursday called on politicians from the North to convert their campaign and constituency offices to temporary cyber cafes to improve the chances of youths from the region being enrolled in the Federal Government’s N-Power social programme.

The call, according to the group, became necessary in order to help more young people have access to the internet due to paucity of funds.

Reading the press statement before newsmen at Arewa House, Kaduna on Thursday, Northern Anti-Corruption Front President Yusuf Idris Amoke also called on regional youths to enrol in the batch ‘C’ of the programme under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

‘We are glad to receive the news that the Federal Government through the Office of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, has prepared to enrol youths in their numbers into the N-Power programme,’ the statement read.

‘The programme which started with 200 thousand youths has since been increased to 500 hundred thousand over time, which is a huge number that has made a significant impact in assisting these youths.

‘As the first phase comes to an end, we urge the government through the honourable minister to
provide soft loan for the beneficiaries of this phase in order to establish businesses.

‘We equally urge the minister to pay much attention to people who are already working but still enrol on the programme thereby blocking the spaces of genuine youths who are in dire need of such intervention.

‘We call on the Northern youths to endeavour to apply to the N-Power programme in other to fill the quota of the 19 Northern states to avoid crying foul that people from other parts of the country have taken their chances.

‘We equally call on Northern political officeholders – from councillors, council Chairmen to members of Houses of Assembly and representatives to convert their campaign/constituency offices into registration points by providing free internet facilities to aid easy registration by our youths.’