The Federal Government has announced the reopening of the application portal of its social investment scheme, N-Power, for fresh registration of the June 2020 Batch C intakes.

This was disclosed in a series of tweet posts by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on Friday, June 26, 2020.

According to the tweet posts, the N-Power 2020 recruitment portal will re-open by 11.45 pm today, Friday, 26 of June 2020. The ministry noted that those that all applications made prior to the re-opening date and time will not be recognised, but instead declared null and void.

The humanitarian affairs ministry also explained that all the processes involved in the application are free.  As such, applicants do not have to pay anybody. Part of the post from the ministry said:

“Dear intending N-Power 2020 applicants. Here is how to prepare for the N-Power application. Remember Portal opens 11.45 pm, June 26, 2020, application is free. Do not pay anyone to apply on the N-Power portal. Get a printout or accurate details of your BVN.’

‘’We understand some people have attempted registration. Please note that your registration is null and void. It doesn’t’ count till the portal opens at 11.45 pm tonight.’’

Dear Intending N-Power 2020 Applicants,

Here is how to prepare for the N-Power application.

Remember
1. Portal opens 11.45pm, June 26th, 2020.
2. Application is FREE. Do NOT pay anyone to apply on the N-Power portal.
3. Get a printout or accurate details of your BVN.#NPowerNG pic.twitter.com/q9enxbvzCP

— N-Power (@npower_ng) June 25, 2020

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The N-Power programme, which was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), has the mandate of lifting citizens out of abject poverty through capacity building, investment, and direct support.

Here are some of the requirements for registration for the N-Power 2020 Batch C

• Get your BVN ready.
• Ensure you are not an existing employee in any organization.
• A printout or current details of your Bank Verification Number (BVN).
• A current passport photograph (1MB) either JPEG or PNG files.
• A valid contact email address or a working phone number

• Your degree certificate and NYSC certificate (if you are a graduate) and want to apply for N-Teach or N-Health.
• Application is done online.

It should be noted that the N-Power 2020 application portal is npower.fmhds.gov.ng.

This is how to Register for N-Power 2020 Recruitment

• Input your valid contact information (email or phone number).
• The information will be redirected to your email for a confirmation.

• Once your email address has been confirmed, you are to fill in your 11-digit BVN and date of birth in the following format (dd/mm/yy). Note that if your BVN details are inaccurate, you will not be allowed to go past this interface.

(READ MORE: COVID-19 Update in Nigeria)

• Fill in your surname, first name, and middle name in identical terms to your BVN information for your biodata and contact page.

• Kindly indicate if you have received education or not on the education and programme page. The N-Power programme is open to all, however.

• The N-Teach and N-Health sub-programmes are however open to only graduates. ii. (In addition, please note that for N-Power Health, selection preference will be given to holders of Bachelor’s Degree, HND, OND in health sciences such as Medicine, Microbiology, Nursing, Public Health, Botany, Midwifery, Psychology or other allied disciplined in the sciences). iii. Where applicable, you will be required to upload your degree certificates and NYSC certificate.

• You will be required to answer some questions and upload your Government issued Identity Card on the employment and other details page. Kindly note that the acceptable Government IDs are International Passport, National ID Card issued by NIMC, Valid Driver’s License and Permanent Voter’s Card.

• Review all the information you have inputted and then submit on the review and submit page and upon submission, you will receive a unique ID number. write it down and keep it safe.

The World Bank, on Thursday, said the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic could make an additional 5 million Nigerians poor, given the imminent recession which is expected to be the worst since the 1980s. 

The crisis that is the pandemic, as well as the worldwide crash in oil prices, has set the nation on a downward trajectory. While on one hand, the oil crisis has hamstrung the largest crude producer on the African continent, the pandemic is set to further aggravate the extreme poverty level which already stood as the highest in the world. 

Depending on how severe the outbreak of the pandemic is, the World Bank forecasts that the Nigerian economy will shrink between 3.2% and 7.4% this year. Where things do get even worse, the recession could continue into 2021 when the economy could contract 2%, it said. 

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In a report on Nigeria’s economic development, the World Bank said, “Today’s unprecedented crisis will require an equally unprecedented response from the entire Nigerian public sector (and) private sector to contain the outbreak and protect the lives and livelihoods of low-income and vulnerable communities.” 

The World Bank had previously projected that 2 million Nigerians, particularly women, would become impoverished; the newly announced 5 million people that would be faced with poverty comes on top of the previously announced figure. 

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With the threshold for poverty set at those living on less than $2 a day, it noted that in total, 42.5% of Nigerians will be poor. Further worsening the situation is the rise in inflation juxtaposed with a projected 70% hit to oil revenues. 

The nation is currently having conversations around raising $6.5 billion in funding with the World Bank as well as other multilateral lenders. 

The Nigerian economy is expected to plunge into severe economic recession, the worst in almost 4o years due to the collapse of oil prices and the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, according to the latest World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU).  

This was disclosed in a report released by the World Bank, titled, “Nigeria in Times of COVID-19: Laying Foundations for a Strong Recovery.” The report estimates that Nigeria’s economy would likely contract by 3.2% in 2020, with the assumption that the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria is contained by the third quarter of 2020. However, if the spread of the virus becomes more severe, the economy could contract further. 

It should be noted that the Nigerian economy was expected to grow by 2.1% in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic, which means that the pandemic has led to a reduction in growth by more than 5%.  

READ MORE: Covid-19: Tinubu asks FG to print more naira notes, outlines economic measures

According to the report, “The macroeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely be significant, even if Nigeria manages to contain the spread of the virus. Oil represents more than 80% of Nigeria’s exports, 30% of its banking-sector credit, and 50% of the overall government revenue. With the drop in oil prices, government revenues are expected to fall from an already low 8% of GDP in 2019 to a projected 5% in 2020.’’  

The drop in government revenue is coming at a time when financial resources are urgently needed to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and stimulate the economy. The pandemic has also led to a drop in private investment due to greater uncertainty, and is expected to reduce remittances to Nigerian households, which in recent years have been larger than the combined amount of foreign direct investment and overseas development assistance. 

In his contribution, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri said, “While the long-term economic impact of the global pandemic is uncertain, the effectiveness of the government’s response is important to determine the speed, quality, and sustainability of Nigeria’s economic recovery. Besides immediate efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and stimulate the economy, it will be even more urgent to address bottlenecks that hinder the productivity of the economy and job creation,” 

READ ALSO: IMF expects Nigeria’s GDP to shrink by 5.4% in 2020

The pandemic is projected to push about 5 million more Nigerians into poverty in 2020. When this is added to the number of poor Nigerians who are expected to increase by about 2 million largely due to population growth, the number would now increase by 7 million – with a poverty rate projected to rise from 40.1% in 2019 to 42.5% in 2020. 

The World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria, Marco Hernandez said, “The unprecedented crisis requires an equally unprecedented policy response from the entire Nigerian public sector, in collaboration with the private sector, to save lives, protect livelihoods, and lay the foundations for a strong economic recovery.” 

The Federal Government has already taken some important health, fiscal and monetary measures to contain the outbreak, moderate the recessionary pressures and start mitigating the effects of the economic shock. Looking ahead, the report discusses policy options in five critical areas that can help Nigeria recover from the COVID-19 crisis:  

(1) containing the outbreak and preparing for a more severe outbreak;  

(2) enhancing macroeconomic management to boost investor confidence;  

(3) safeguarding and mobilizing revenues;  

(4) reprioritizing public spending to protect critical development expenditures and stimulate economic activity; and  

(5) protecting poor and vulnerable communities.