The October stipend will only be dished out to the Npower Batch C members after the current issues surrounding the payment of the September stipend have been successfully rectified.
As at the middle of November, the members of the NPower scheme who signed up to be part of the third batch of volunteers have still not received the stipends which they should have received back in September.
This lack of payment renders the payment of the October stipend “unfair” while the issues surrounding the payment of the September stipend still exist.
Some of the issues that are hindering the payment of the September stipend are error messages like “no payment data” and “payment failed”. When these issues have been fully resolved, the payment of the October stipend will then be able to commence.
The situation is quite a tricky one, and can rightly be met with huge criticism. This is because a programme which was established for the purpose of empowering Nigerians is struggling to pay the stipends meant for the volunteers. It would be expected that a programme of this magnitude would have found a way to push past the roadblocks for payment.
The N-Power Batch C volunteers have been urged to exercise a huge deal of patience, while the N-Power National Social Investment Management System (NASIMS) management tries to resolve their issues. The NASIMS has also assured the waiting Volunteers that the management is aware of their wait for the payment, and will definitely address every single issue that is surrounding the payment of the stipends.
The call for patience from the volunteers is unlikely to be received well, considering the current state of the economy. Examining the rate at which food prices are increasing, frustration is bound to set in sooner or later.
The volunteers have also been advised to maintain constant communication with the NASIMS concerning issues about payment, and not just focus on information flying around online.