President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the increase in the number of N-Power beneficiaries from 500,000 to one million.

The president disclosed this on his Twitter handle on Thursday.

He wrote: “We remain committed to the plan to lift 100m Nigerians out of poverty.

“To this end I have approved an increase in scope of our Social Investment Programme: Doubling of @npower_ng beneficiaries to 1 million; 1 million new @geep_ng beneficiaries & 5 million new pupils for @NHGSFP.”

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, had on November 30 hinted that the number of N-Power beneficiaries would be doubled.

President Buhari inaugurated the N-Power programme on June 8, 2016, with 500,000 direct beneficiaries.

The programme was conceived by the government in a bid to address youth unemployment and increase social development in the country.

The government planned to spend N400 billion on N-POWER, TRADERMONI and other SIPs in 2021.