A nationwide delegation of N-Power beneficiaries has officially declared support for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 elections. The announcement was made in a statement published on Facebook on Saturday, August 29, 2026, by AbdulAziz Na'ibi Abubakar, a political commentator and member of The Atiku Movement (TAM), a support group backing the former vice president's presidential bid.
Claim of 1.4 Million Supporters Unverified
In his statement, Na'ibi wrote: "Breaking News: 1.4 million N-Power beneficiaries declare support for Atiku Abubakar ahead of 2027." However, Legit.ng could not independently verify the figure of 1.4 million beneficiaries. The endorsement comes as political parties and opposition figures across Nigeria intensify their mobilisation activities ahead of the elections.
N-Power Scheme's Troubled History
N-Power, one of the social investment programmes launched under the administration of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2016, was designed to tackle youth unemployment in Nigeria. The programme, established by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, enrolled thousands of beneficiaries across its Batch A, B, and C cycles. Former N-Power graduate volunteers were entitled to a monthly stipend of N30,000 for at least one year, while non-graduate beneficiaries earned N10,000 monthly stipends.
In October 2023, the federal government suspended the N-Power scheme and ordered an immediate audit. A communique signed by the National Programme Manager, Akindele Egbuwalo, on behalf of then-minister Betta Edu, cited irregular payments to beneficiaries whose participation had long expired. The communique read, according to Guardian: "Recently, we discovered instances of programme beneficiaries whose participation has lapsed since 2022 but have remained on and continue to expect payments from the government." It also noted that some beneficiaries were receiving monthly payments despite not reporting to their places of primary assignment, while others had taken up separate employment but continued to collect stipends.
Alleged N81 Billion Debt Remains Unresolved
In July 2025, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin stepped in to broker talks between federal government officials, aggrieved beneficiaries, and their legal representative, Abba Hikima. The N-Power beneficiaries had threatened legal action over an alleged N81 billion backlog of unpaid allowances dating back to 2022 and 2023. Following the discussions, Jibrin said the beneficiaries agreed to suspend their plans to sue the government after receiving assurances that payments would be made. According to The Cable, he acknowledged that the debt was inherited from the previous administration but said President Bola Tinubu's government remained committed to settling it as part of the renewed hope agenda.
It was against this backdrop of unresolved financial grievances and political uncertainty that the reported endorsement of Atiku by the N-Power delegation took place.
Legal Action by Former Beneficiaries
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that no less than 230,000 former beneficiaries of the N-Power scheme dragged the APC government before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Abuja division, to seek immediate payment of their outstanding stipends and allowances. The aggrieved former beneficiaries are also demanding the sum of N5 billion as general damages and compensation for what they described as deliberate labour exploitation, unfair treatment, and breach of contractual obligations on the part of the government.
