The Chairman of Abaji Area Council, Alhaji Abdulrahaman Ajiya, yesterday, ordered officials of the National Orientation Agency, Abaji Area office, to stop the ongoing screening exercise for the successful applicants for the N-power scheme in the area Council.
Ajiya, represented by secretary of the council, Alhaji Kamal Adamu Shuaibu, while addressing some aggrieved youths who invaded the council secretariat, said the council was not happy with the current list of the N-power programme.
He said it was saddening that out of 915 successful applicants for the N-power scheme, only five applicants from the council were natives, saying the council would not accept such imbalance.
He said a similar incident happened in the last N-power scheme.
The chairman noted that the scheme by the government was meant for the people at the grassroots to empower unemployed youth, but lamented that the natives were completely sidelined.
“It is so sad that our youth were cheated during the first N-power scheme, and this time again, the same thing is about to happen which we at the council level can’t accept,” he said.
Alhaji Ajiya said the best way to calm tension among the aggrieved youths was to order the officials to stop the ongoing screening pending when the anomalies were rectified.
“We are going to write to the authorities concerned to address this injustice because we at the grassroots are facing serious heat from our electorate,“ he added.
He urged other Area council Chairmen to stop the marginalization of FCT natives.
