5 N-Power volunteers in Omu-Aran to lose month pay for truancy

Five N-Power volunteers, teaching at the St. Paul’s Anglican School II, Omu-Aran, Kwara will lose their N30,000 stipend for one month for being absent from school without permission.

Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Youth Empowerment, handed down the order when he visited the school as part of monitoring and evaluation of the scheme.

Although the school was on vacation during the visit, he perused the attendance register, and noticed high level of truancy, as the logbook failed to reflect their claims of regular presence.

Accordingly, Imoukhuede slammed a month pay hold for the five female volunteers and informed them that the punishment would be served during the next tranche of stipend in August.

“You are all going to lose August pay; if you cannot work, exit the programme and those of you on maternity leave must communicate it officially to our office through your supervisors or be sanctioned as well.

“There is no full pay again; you will now be paid for only the days that you work and anyone who is penalised thrice for truancy will be removed from the programme,’’ he warned.

Imoukhuede, who used the opportunity to address other volunteers in the area, informed them that President Muhammadu Buhari and Acting President Yemi Osinbajo they voted for “are men of integrity.

“What is required of you is honesty, high sense of discipline and integrity; you must imbibe these values from N-Power to make you employable,’’ he warned.

The presidential aide, however, commended a volunteer, a male; and another five in the Primary School I, in the same premises for their devotion to duty.

He told the headmaster and headmistress of both schools, that the job of mentoring the volunteers was very crucial for the success of the programme.

The Headmaster of School I, Mr Femi Oyerinde, had informed the visiting team of the death of one of the female volunteers in the school in March, Mrs Bimbo Agboola, few months after she assumed duty.

He said that the volunteer programme had addressed the shortage of manpower in the school which hitherto had only 12 teachers attending to no fewer than 381 pupils and requested for more volunteers for the school.

The monitoring team which included the state focal person, Elder Ayobola Samuel, and the Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara Governor on Youth Employment, Alhaji Saka Babatunde, expressed grief at the death of the volunteer.

It was reported that Imoukhuede collected the enrolment information of the deceased in order to process her benefits.

He also assured the school of her replacement.