Some beneficiaries of the Npower scheme on Monday staged a protest over unpaid allowances at Public Service Institute of Nigeria along Kubwa Express Way, Abuja.
Activities at the institute were paralysed as a result of the demonstration by the aggrieved Npower beneficiaries.
It was learnt that the protesters were demanding payment of their outstanding three months’ stipend and feeding allowances owed by the management of the scheme.
Each beneficiary of the scheme is paid N42,000 feeding allowance per month and N10,000 stipend for the same period.
One of the protesters, Micheal Bright, who spoke with journalists said they are yet to be paid their feeding allowance for December, stressing that the situation has left many of them hungry and sick.
“We are being treated as slaves here. It is like the government brought us from different states to this camp in Abuja to starve us to death.
“We have been enduring hunger since we got to this place, we cannot take it anymore and that is why we protested today. Something urgent has to be done.”
However, an official, who addressed the protesters promised that their allowances will be paid before the end of the week.
Meanwhile, the protesters vowed to shun lecture rooms at the institute until the matter was resolved.
Beneficiaries of Npower’s Batch C (Stream 1) from states in the North-Central region of Nigeria are currently camped at the Public Service Institute in Kubwa.
The present set resumed at the camp on November 3 and are expected to vacate on December 20.
The Npower scheme is under the supervision of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management.
Since its creation by President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2016 to address youth unemployment and help increase social development in the country, the scheme has been dogged by many scandals and has failed to live up to its billing.
